Zomato, traditionally recognized for its food delivery services, is continuing to pursue its rapid expansion into the live events and events booking space. Fresh from its Paytm Entertainment acquisition, Zomato is now adding ticket resale feature to its events section. Scheduled to launch on September 30, 2024, the “Book Now, Sell Anytime” feature will bring to Indians, what many in the west have been doing for a long time, a way to easily manage and sell event tickets, addressing common issues associated with ticket purchasing and resale.
“We understand – plans change! There are a lot of unknowns when booking a ticket so far in advance: What if I’m out of the country? What if my friends can’t go? What if I forgot about that wedding I had to attend? We want to make it as easy as possible to book a ticket to an event, as early as possible, without having to worry about anything else. This is precisely why we built our own ‘Book Now, Sell Anytime’ feature – a first of its kind by an Indian ticketing platform,” Zomaro announced in an official blog post.
Subscribe to TP Daily for updates on the latest and greatest in Tech
This new functionality allows users to buy tickets once they go live on the Zomato app, as well as resell the event tickets purchased through the app itself, offering a flexible solution for those who might face changes in their plans. The feature will debut with tickets for Zomato’s Feeding India concert, featuring pop star Dua Lipa. This move marks Zomato’s foray into the event ticketing market, providing users with a streamlined method to manage their event attendance.
Once a ticket is listed for resale, users can adjust the selling price up to twice the current phase price of the event. Zomato provides an example – if an Early Bird ticket was bought for ₹1,000 and the current phase price is ₹2,000, the resale price can be as high as ₹4,000. Upon sale, the original ticket is canceled, and a new ticket is issued to the buyer, ensuring that the transaction is secure and straightforward. The seller receives the full listed price, excluding applicable taxes, through their preferred payment method.
To mitigate potential misuse and prevent unfair practices such as market touting, Zomato has established several regulatory measures. These include capping the number of tickets a customer can buy and resell to a maximum of ten per category. Additionally, the resale price is capped at twice the current phase price or, in the case of a sell-out, twice the final phase price. “Our hope is that this feature is utilized for the right reasons by our genuine customers. We also want to ensure this does not promote ill practices in the events industry such as black market touting or unfair pricing. Therefore, we have put a few checks and balances in place,” Zomato noted.
The introduction of the “Book Now, Sell Anytime” feature follows Zomato’s acquisition of Paytm’s events and movie ticketing business in an all-cash deal valued at Rs. 2,048 crore. This acquisition is a pivotal moment for Zomato, as it marks a substantial expansion from its core food delivery services into the broader event ticketing market. This development comes at a time when the food delivery aggregator is preparing to launch a new app named ‘District.’ This app is intended to serve as a platform for various lifestyle and entertainment needs, including dining out, live events, and movie ticketing.
