Cale Walsh, Head of Partnerships at Snackr, the in-seat food delivery app for stadium events, highlights how elite-level sports and entertainment venues can keep fans in their seats to enjoy the event, so they don’t miss the action.

How venues can cash in on the digital era

Smartphones have fundamentally changed the way people live their day-to-day lives. There are over 6.4 billion users accessing their devices an average of 58 times per day, with voice calls making up only a fraction of these interactions. Consumer behaviour is evolving alongside rapidly developing smartphone functionality and global industries are investing heavily in digital platforms.

Nike, the largest sporting company globally, has been at the forefront of investment in digital infrastructure since 2017, with these investments now paying dividends. Digital sales now make up 21 per cent of Nike’s overall revenue and projections indicate this will reach 50 per cent by 2025. The brand is banking on digital sales and has aligned sales and has aligned sales with consumer behaviour - pushing customers towards its app, loyalty program and click and collect features.

Like other retailers, the mobile food ordering industry has experienced incredible growth. The Covid-19 pandemic has fuelled growth in this space, with an incredible 24 million people ordering food through a food aggregation app last year in the UK alone. Excitingly, restaurants and caterers that received mobile orders in this time noticed, on average, a whopping 40 per increase in transaction size!

How can large scale venues capitalise on the digital era?

Consider the food and beverage experience during a football match. At any given match, you are likely to wait in a substantial queue, the vendor may run out of the item you are waiting to purchase, and, perhaps most frustratingly, you could miss that key goal you have paid to see live. Rather than adding to the live event experience, the food and beverage service often detracts from it.

Digital platforms need to be specifically designed to handle this problem. With people increasingly glued to their smartphones, the opportunity for venues to offer fans more chances to purchase food and beverages is significant. The fan can view a live menu and avoid queues while revenue is increased via larger basket sizes and reductions in queue drop. The advantage is multifaceted, as the fan experience is enhanced while the venue grows revenue without needing to increase attendance.

Today only 6.65 per cent of fans access in-seat ordering. Compare this to a recent study conducted by Oracle in which 64 per cent of fans reported they would use mobile ordering at stadiums if it was available. This significant shortfall in supply provides an opportunity for venues that an in-seat food delivery app, such as Snackr, can facilitate. Snackr’s system is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure and is a solution tailored specifically to large events.

Snackr will assist venues to capitalise on the huge growth of digital platforms and leverage the addictive nature of smartphones. Companies can follow Nike’s lead and capitalise on the ever-growing demand for quality digital platforms and the sought-after convenience they provide.

About Snackr

Born out of a love for sport and live events, Snackr is the mobile ordering platform designed to keep fans in the action and out of the queues.

The Snackr platform provides convenience for fans, increased fan engagement and revenue for vendors; targeting marketing opportunities for corporate partners and valuable data analytics for venues - all in the name of delivering an innovative and efficient fan experience.

More importantly, Snackr is committed to getting venues back in the game post-pandemic with contactless concession and merchandise ordering solutions designed to reduce queue congestion and maximise revenue.