5 Ways to Increase Concession Revenue at Events with Early Arrivals

5 Ways to Increase Concession Revenue at Events with Early Arrivals

Invite patrons to arrive early to your ticketed events. Not only can they beat the lines, but they can relax while enjoying food and beverages, or purchase the products they forgot to add during their ticket purchases. (You are already using the product sales feature in ThunderTix, right?)

Read on for 5 ways you can increase concession revenue at events with early arrivals for you tour, music venues or theaters:

1. Happy hour prices on food and beverages
   Happy hours are great for venues with concessions. Consider free “bar snacks” from 1 ½ hours up to 30 minutes before showtime. The small expense for food might bring in many times the cost in added revenue. Track food costs versus bar receipts to learn which items provide the best return. When considering free or discounted alcoholic beverages, make sure you first check local restrictions on reduced-cost alcohol sales.
2. Added fun with theme nights
   Connect with special audiences using themes. We often see this with movie mega-hits such as one of the Marvel or Star Wars sagas with patrons dressing up as their favorite characters. Halloween events are another great opportunity for costumed fun. Consider "best costume" contests or themed merchandise and food and beverages to add to the festive atmosphere that has patrons-turned-party-goers tweeting and sharing photos on Instagram.
3. Raffle tickets for merchandise giveaways
   Invite patrons to arrive early to receive a free raffle ticket good for a pair of tickets to a future show. At $100 face value, it takes about a dozen drink sales to pay for itself. Choose any giveaway item that your patrons will value or one centered on your event’s theme. Make sure you announce the winner just before showtime, and remind patrons that early entrants receive raffle tickets for various prizes.
4. Children love venues that let them eat cake!
   Or popcorn. Or hotdogs. These are the perfect high profit items to boost concession revenue at your event. You choose the fun food that won’t cause a disaster for your venue, and let the kids enjoy. (Helpful hint: theaters might wish to avoid ice cream in carpeted venues!) Don’t forget to display your stuffed animals and souvenir items within reach of small hands, and remember to offer adult refreshments, too.
5. Community centered events
   Extend special invites to the LGBT or other communities and provide pre-concert live music to help facilitate community centered conversation and friendships. Repeating them on a monthly basis will allow the targeted community to look forward to “their” night.

Remember to highlight your early-bird specials with fun graphics on your print-at-home tickets, event descriptions and email confirmations. And don’t forget to use our free iOS barcode scanning app to quickly verify each ticket and eliminate lines. A patron with a beverage in hand is happier than one standing in line!

Food and beverages often enjoy some great profit margins, so use the 5 ways to increase concession revenue at events by focusing on getting attendees in the door early. Check out an interesting infographic on concession profits.