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Business News Live Business Retail
Could Tesco force a rethink on ticketing?
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 7 June 2011
Lots of people in the ticketing sector are curious as to Tesco’s ambitions in their industry after the supermarket giant last week announced it would be selling tickets to a series of concerts being promoted by the Liz Hobbs Group, and taking place at racecourses around the UK.
Tickets for the events, which include a day at the races followed by a gig by the likes of Tom Jones, Blondie and the Scissor Sisters, are available from various agents, but that includes Tesco’s online entertainment store. And the supermarket giant isn’t charging any booking or credit card fees, and offer loyalty card points for those who buy their tickets via its website.
Says Tesco’s Entertainment Director Rob Salter: “We know our customers are increasingly keen to experience live music and we wanted to meet this growing trend, by providing a ticket offer that would deliver great value and a reliable service. Tickets to see music at the races are a perfect summertime treat to enjoy with friends or family, at an affordable price. What’s key when money is so tight is that customers don’t need to worry about unexpected additional ticket costs when they buy from our entertainment website”.
Although currently only selling tickets for this one series of concerts, everyone assumes this is a pilot for a more extensive ticketing service in the future which, if it continued to be commission free and with loyalty card incentives thrown in, could force other ticketing agents to radically rethink their business models.
