Movie Fans Beat Box Office Crowds Online
Movie queues are migrating online from the box office, especially for advance tickets purchased a day or more ahead of show time. That number reaches as high as 80 percent in the case of theater chain AMC Entertainment, company spokesman Rick King says.
Online sales still comprise a small percentage of overall sales of events and entertainment tickets, but the numbers are growing, reports CNET News.com. In urban markets such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, a “high percentage” of tickets are being sold online, says Stacey Herron, an entertainment and media analyst with Jupiter Research. And in the San Francisco Bay Area, the portion of tickets sold online for some movies has reached 50 percent, says Sallie Green, a spokeswoman for Fandango.com.
Moderator Comment: Do the online purchasing habits
of moviegoers have implications for brick and mortar retailers?
There is a clear opportunity for brick and mortar retailers
to build profitable online ventures using a store pickup system. [George
Anderson – Moderator]