Resale site Twickets has introduced a new feature enabling customers to make an offer on listings up to the face value of the ticket price.
The move follows the results of a user survey at the end of last year to determine the most requested additions to the site.
"Twickets sees an average conversion rate of just over two-thirds listings that end up as sales," Twickets founder Richard Davies (pictured) told Music Week. "Many of the unsold tickets come about as the seller actually forgets to reduce their asking price, or is unaware of current market pricing. This is particularly relevant when it's a freely available ticket, or the event is only a matter of hours away."
Davies said Twickets is the first ticketing platform to offer such a facility, which went live at the end of May and has seen an adoption rate of more than 30% so far.
"There are enhanced benefits to both sides - sellers will now have a greater chance of selling and buyers can get even better value," he said. "Users are now asked when listing their tickets whether they wish to allow buyers to make an offer for their listing. If they do, then prospective buyers will be able to submit a bid which the seller can choose to either accept or reject.
"We've also introduced measures to prevent buyers from abusing the system by consistently bidding for the same ticket."
The lockdown has enabled us to focus on improving the Twickets product across all our channels, in readiness for the return of live music
Richard Davies
Twickets
Twickets, which claimed the ticketing company honour at last year's Music Week Awards, has gained the support of key industry figures such as former EMI Music chairman Tony Wadsworth, Wildlife Entertainment’s Ian McAndrew, Modest! Management’s Harry Magee and Richard Griffiths and Ed Sheeran's manager Stuart Camp.
It has worked with artists including Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Mumford & Sons and The 1975, and Davies said the site had continued to see trading during the pandemic, albeit at a reduced level.
"Many fans who can no longer attend a rearranged show are looking to avoid putting the primary ticket agency under pressure through seeking a refund," he said. "As such, resale is becoming the preferred choice to get their money back, and ensure another fan is attending in their place rather than potentially selling to a tout.
"The lockdown has enabled us to focus on improving the Twickets product across all our channels, in readiness for the return of live music. This will include the introduction of other new features that polled well in our survey; a full overhaul of our iOS and Android apps as well as technical integrations with a number of new partners that we'll be announcing over the coming months."
