84% of respondents want to avoid food and drink queues by using their phones to order and pay in advance. 72% said beating a queue for rides and food is the main reason for downloading a park app. Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) want to use an app to scan and pay for food and merchandise in a park, while 62% view receiving exclusive offers and rewards as an incentive to download. 48% want loyalty programme benefits from an app.
The figures are in the Omnico Theme Park Mobile Barometer, surveying 1985 respondents from China, Hong Kong and Japan who have visited a theme park in the last two years.
“Our research proves that while apps are essential, visitors will only download them if they are packed with functionality,” said Mel Taylor, CEO, Omnico. “Park operators with clunky, impractical apps run the serious risk of losing out on substantial revenues from tech-savvy visitors.”
52% of respondents will spend more during or after a visit if they can convert loyalty points into spending value, while for 44%, receiving offers relating to their next visit will have the same effect.
Although visitors want app notifications, 47% said they would delete an app if offers were too numerous or irrelevant.
“Parks’ apps must be supported by an effective customer-engagement platform,” added Taylor. “Apps will only meet visitors’ expectations and provide sustained revenue increases if visitors are recognised as individuals at every touchpoint and the level of interaction is highly personalised.”
Overall, the Theme Park Mobile Barometer shows apps are indispensable tools of interaction for both visitor and park operator.
Download the full report here: https://omnicogroup.com/insights/theme-park-mobile-barometer/
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About Omnico:
Omnico’s cloud-based technology powers POS and customer engagement solutions across seven of the top 11 global theme park resorts, as well as leading retail and hospitality brands.
Omnico is the only vendor that provides a single, seamless platform for retail, food and beverage, loyalty, promotions, entitlements and stock, enabling clients to increase spend per head, visit frequency and operational efficiency.