Event and venue technology evolved at a much quicker pace over the past two years, and new research from Oracle Food and Beverage shows that fan expectations coming out the pandemic reflect an increased reliance on and desire for technology to enhance the overall event experience. The survey was conducted in May 2022 by Oracle research partner Untold Insights and included a poll over 5,600 global consumers.
Among the notable findings were customer sentiments around digital experiences and the metaverse: 53 percent of consumers surveyed indicated that they think it would be amazing to engage with their favorite teams and artists in the metaverse — particularly sports fans (64 percent) and Millennials (65 percent) — with half noting that they would love to be a part of a virtual crowd and interact with otherfans in the metaverse. Sports leagues are certainly delivering on this demand from fans through new digital venue twins and other metaverse experiences.
Technology solutions are also helping to alleviate the current staffing shortage by delivering streamlined experiences to fans. Over half of fans surveyed (53 percent) indicated that they prefer ordering food and beverage at stadiums via tech over in-person, and 70 percent agreed that service jobs can be replaced by tech solutions. 42 percent love the idea of using their fingerprint to enter a venue.
In addition, the event experience is no longer limited to the time fans spend onsite at the venue — 53 percent of respondents said they love the idea of ordering food and drinks before the event for pickup at a specific time, and another 53 percent are interested in receiving special offers and information on events to pre-game near the stadium. Over half also loved the idea of purchasing an all-inclusive experience at a pre-game partner restaurant and exclusive post-game content on their device.
“Stadium visitors want the best of both worlds; they seek the excitement of live in-person viewing but want the experience to feel as convenient as other parts of their life, such as ordering take-out,” said Simon de Montfort Walker, senior vice president and general manager at Oracle Food and Beverage. “While providing an immersive and seamless journey presents challenges to stadium operators, fans’ increased expectations have also created opportunity to bring innovation and digitalization into the traditional stadium sphere.”