Merritt Baer and Brian Fenty aren’t just theater producers of successful Broadway shows like the Tony Award-winning “Death of a Salesman,” they’re also entrepreneurs.
As lifelong theater fans, they felt the process of buying tickets to Broadway shows was technologically archaic.
So in December 2013, they launched TodayTix, an app that allowes theater-goers to buy tickets on mobile devices.
On Black Friday 2013, Baer said, 20% of all online transactions were made using mobile apps. However, only .8% of transactions for Broadway shows were done on mobile devices in all of 2013.
The lag could be due to the fact that Broadway’s audiences tend to be a little older — around the age of 45, according to the Broadway League. In contrast, the average age of TodayTix users so far is 32.
“We are hoping to encourage younger audiences to come to Broadway shows,” Baer said.
Since the app only offers tickets up to a week in advance, it appeals to younger audiences who tend to be more spontaneous. TodayTix offers discounts too, selling tickets to some shows for as low as $29.
It also has a lottery which gives winners tickets for 3 cents to the Atlantic Theater Company’s “Threepenny Opera.”
However, although they know which section they’ll sit in, patrons don’t know exactly where their seats are until they arrive at the theater.
Since its December 2013 launch, the app’s popularity is apparent.
In some weeks, 2% of all Broadway show tickets were sold through TodayTix, according to Baer.
“There are days in April where sales are 10 times what they were two months ago,” he said.
