A STORE IN THE PALM OF YOUR HANDS

I’m having dessert at Milestones with a friend and as we finish, I say “Let’s go see a movie!” She replies, “It’s opening night. The lines will be huge. There’s no way we’re getting tickets.” She suggests getting on the internet to buy tickets. I whip out my blackberry and realize that I have no printer, so I wouldn’t be able to print the tickets.

This unfortunate situation could have been avoided if I knew about RepeatSeat. RepeatSeat allows customers to purchase tickets using their cell phone’s internet browser. No credit card transaction is required – the price of the tickets would show up on next month’s bill. More importantly, a barcode would be sent straight to the phone! This barcode would be scanned before I enter the theatre, and I could skip the long lines on opening night.

M-COMMERCE
Most people are familiar with E-Commerce, making business transactions through the internet. M-Commerce (Mobile-Commerce) is a specific type of E-Commerce that uses mobile technology. In other words, it lets you make business transactions over your phone. With the growing use of cell phones, M-Commerce seems almost inevitable, so who will take advantage of this opportunity first and who will do it the best?

REPEATSEAT & CINEPLEX
Started by entrepreneurs in Calgary, RepeatSeat first provided ticket services to the Calgary Flames. As their success grew and their technology became more advanced, they secured a deal with Cineplex Odeon for their mobile ticketing services. An initiative with Bell Mobility, RepeatSeat allows Bell subscribers to use text messaging to purchase tickets that get sent directly to the phone and billed to the next phone bill. RepeatSeat seems to be the company that has taken control over the M-Commerce ticketing market in Canada.

Clearly, RepeatSeat provides Cineplex customers with paramount convenience. Instead of purchasing tickets at the theatre or on your laptop, you can purchase tickets anywhere you go, so long as you have your cell phone handy. There is a slight fee with using RepeatSeat, but as technology advances, I suspect that fee to become negligible. Using RepeatSeat’s services, Cineplex can provide convenience for customers, while still mainta

ining their emphasis on their selection of movies, and the experience of watching a movie on the big screen. Although most people would agree that Cineplex’s RVP centres around experience, having a convenient way to buy tickets will definitely drive ticket sales.

THE FUTURE OF M-COMMERCE
RepeatSeat has explored other avenues for M-Commerce, such as airlines and sporting events. However, there is a lot more potential for M-Commerce. Imagine using your phone to buy a Tim Horton’s coffee. You skip the line to pick up your coffee that has been made for the time you requested in your order, and all they had to do was scan your phone. As online shopping dominates and M-Commerce gains popularity, retail stores may only act as a “pick-up” store because the entire retail experience will exist in the palm of your hands.

Sources:

RepeatSeat: http://www.repeatseat.com/index.asp

Cineplex Listings with RepeatSeat: http://www.cineplex.com/Theatres/TheatreDetails/4F8D1583/SilverCity_London.aspx?topsearch=T|T

M-Commerce: http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci214590,00.html

RepeatSeat & Cineplex Announcement: http://www.repeatseat.com/newsEvents/CineplexJump.pdf