AMAZON VIP OPTIONS GROW WITH ITS U.K. TICKETING PUSH

Amazon is not a company that does things halfway. After starting out as an online bookstore more than two decades ago, the internet giant has become the world’s supermarket, selling just about anything you could imagine. Well, except concert tickets.
Until recently.
The virtual megastore quietly began offering tickets to its Amazon Prime customers in England in 2015, and thanks to an ever-expanding deal with AEG, it is growing into a player in that market. The idea of the massive retailer jumping into business with one of the world’s leading promoters — and owner of the iconic O2 Arena in London, among other venues — makes perfect sense. And so far, according to Paul Samuels, executive vice president of AEG Global Partnerships in Europe, his company could not be happier with the results.
The relationship ramped up last year when Samuels became intrigued about how the brands could work together. Amazon approached AEG Presents about collaborating on AEG’s Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time in Hyde Park festival as a test. “We gave them an allocation of primary tickets to sell along with our other primary ticket distributors and they did very well. What was amazing was the amount of data they have on their customers,” Samuels said. “They know CDs you’ve bought and sometimes they know more than you know about yourself. They’re very good at targeting and selling and I was surprised by how well they did.”
Because of the amount and depth of the data Amazon could offer, the two struck a one-year deal that includes an Amazon Terrace at the festival open to Amazon Prime customers that is essentially a VIP package with extra benefits that include food and beverage deals and access to a VIP summer garden. While AEG’s main ticketing partner is still their own platform, AXS, farming out some tickets to Amazon helped ensure that the festival sold out as quickly as possible. “Having Amazon and AXS work together allows us to tap into a database that reaches customers we weren’t reaching before,” he said.
The partnership is in keeping with Amazon’s overall strategy for growth: thinking long-term and keeping the focus on the customer. “Within Amazon Tickets, our aim is to be the world’s most customer-centric ticketing company,” explained Geraldine Wilson, GM of Amazon Tickets UK. “That means continuing to add selection for our customers, including more tickets to music, theatre, comedy events and more, and continuing to innovate on behalf of customers in areas like the purchasing process, customer service and the in-venue experience. We’ve made a great start with the launch of premium seating, Amazon lounges and the opportunity to access pre-sales for entertainment events across the UK for our Prime members; however, we have a saying at Amazon that ‘it’s still Day 1.’”
Amazon has been offering customers access to live entertainment since Amazon Tickets launched in the UK in 2015, with tickets across multiple price points to concerts, West End theater productions, comedy and other live events.
That might explain why when it came to talks of renewing the Hyde Park deal, Amazon and AEG began discussing a partnership on the O2, with AEG offering Amazon a “small percentage” of tickets for every event across different price points as a trial run. The companies then hit upon the idea of creating premium spaces for Amazon to sell exclusively to their customers, dubbed the Amazon Deck, with clear views of the stage and the only space on the first level of the arena bowl with waiter service.
The areas, which opened in March, hold around 100 fans and, because they’re newly created, they don’t take any ticket inventory away from AXS. Neither partner was willing to discuss ticket sales figures, grosses or box office impact on the record. Three Amazon Lounges were also opened after a building redesign carved out some new premium areas also reserved for Amazon customers. “From a B2B point of view there are clear advantages,” Samuels said. “We have access, but not every show sells out and if we can reach new customers and sell out faster… Amazon helps us do that.”
In addition to Amazon Deck seats and Amazon Lounges at the O2, there is a brand new backstage Amazon Prime lounge at the SSE Arena and a deal at Wembley Arena which provides ticket holders a drink upon arrival and exclusive views during pre-show hours. There are also new premium seats for other summer music festivals including Live in Chelsea and Kew the Music. At the latter, ticket holders will have a reserved area where they will have a special view of the stage, along with champagne, afternoon tea or a picnic hamper.
So far, Samuels said AEG is keen on building out the relationship as Amazon expands its reach into ticketing, including the possibility of venturing out of the UK to other markets.