Here’s (drumroll!) ... electronic tickets! One movie ticket may not seem much but consider: if all 1.244 billion admissions reported in the USA and Canada in 2019 were printed on regular tickets* and connected end-to-end, it would stretch more than half the distance between Earth and the Moon! Besides the costs to cinemas for acquiring the paper, printers, and energy needed to print, it also puts the environment at risk through deforestation and inefficient waste management.

Electronic ticketing isn’t a new solution. We’re used to receiving, showing, and scanning e-tickets whenever we travel, go to a game, or attend the latest concert. Why not use it for cinemas?

Ticketing has moved through several phases, from PDFs printed at home to online bookings with counter/kiosk pickup, but this is the moment of electronic ticketing. The upward trend in moviegoer preference for remote sales channels can be attributed to this surge in popularity. With more and more moviegoers booking in advance either via web or cinema apps to avoid queues at the counter and prevent physical contact, the use of electronic tickets throughout the entire cinema trip is becoming increasingly common.

Touching, tearing, and handing ticket after ticket back and forth doesn’t fit with the safety we need today. The fact that electronic tickets never have to change hands bounced electronic ticketing up to a headliner in the measures taken by cinemas to ensure a safe reopening and to regain moviegoer confidence.

If your cinema has already nailed electronic ticketing for online movie bookings, consider taking it to the next level by enabling your kiosk and POS to do the same. The percentage of ticket sales from POS or kiosk has been declining over the years, but paperless ticketing has multiple advantages. You’re preventing environmental damage, saving costs, and going paperless frees cinema managers and floor staff from low-value tasks like stocking paper, replacing paper rolls, and printer troubleshooting.

You can even double your savings and further decrease your paper consumption by enabling e-receipts for all purchases!

Our electronic ticketing solution—affectionately named the Living Ticket for its ability to update in real-time to reflect any changes to the session details or any concession items added to the booking—can do all of this and more! Get in touch with your Account Manager to learn more about the Living Ticket and how it can help you reduce your environmental impact, costs and simplify operations.

*ticket size considered 2" x 5.25"