A consistent ask from our members, be that through our membership survey findings or through one-to-one conversations, is for more data and insights relating to the sector, its performance and ‘what others are up to’. One of the most common questions relates to the supply chain to the sector, and specifically which systems or tools other members are using to deliver and support their various commercial activities. To get a flavour of this, the Association has conducted a short, sharp survey of our members requesting very simple information about their ticketing, ecommerce, retail and catering suppliers.
Questions were not asked about the quality of any individual systems, or whether organisations are moving from one supplier to another. We simply wanted to capture the state of play within the sector just now, to find out which systems are most widely used. Our intention is to take this snapshot of service providers on an annual basis, and share the results with our members. Over time this will allow us – and you – to get a picture of the movers and shakers, to see any trends emerging from within the supply chain, and – ultimately – to support you as you make the big decisions about service providers.
The Association fully recognises that popularity and quality do not always go hand in hand, but nevertheless, as we are commonly asked the question about which systems and suppliers members use, we know there is an appetite out there for some information and insights on this.
I’m pleased to say we had just under 50 organisations respond, representing a cross-section of the sector in terms of type, size, and geography. The findings below are not presented in any particular order, and all responses to the survey are anonymous.
Ticketing
Among the ticketing systems mentioned, EventBrite, Art Tickets (Art Fund), Digitickets, Gateway, Tessitura, and Access Gamma stand out as the most commonly used across organisations.
Systems mentioned include well-known platforms used for arts and cultural venues, with some organisations combining multiple systems. This diversity indicates that there is no single dominant solution for ticketing, and the choice of platform likely depends on the specific needs of the venue, such as integration with other systems and cost considerations.
One striking feature is the popularity of EventBrite. It’s easy to set up and manage, user friendly, and has the advantage of customer familiarity. I spoke to one ticketing consultant about this result, and their advice to venues was to compare commission percentages against established ticketing providers carefully, as EventBrite’s percentage share can be considerably more than other ticketing platforms, making investment in a ticketing system beneficial in the long term.
eCommerce
Shopify is dominant in the eCommerce category. Most organisations that sell products online prefer Shopify, likely due to its robust, user-friendly platform and vast integrations with other tools and in their library of free and paid-for apps. It is particularly well-suited for organisations with retail operations because of its Shopify Point-of-Sale system (see below), allowing them to efficiently sell and report on both physical and digital sales channels. While other eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce are mentioned, Shopify’s presence outpaces the rest by a wide margin.
We know that there was an explosion in ecommerce activity because of the pandemic, which accelerated existing trends in investment online. Shopify’s strengths in scalability, accessible monthly pricing, and the lack of technical knowledge required to operate, made it the platform of choice. Larger and more complex systems like Salesforce and Adobe Commerce (formally Magento) are used by some large operations, but don’t have the same appeal for smaller organisations.
Retail
In retail, as well as Shopify POS, we found SumUp, Lightspeed, EPOS Now, Cybertill, Access Gamma, and Merac are referenced repeatedly. These systems cater to a variety of retail environments, from small gift shops in museums to larger, more complex operations.
There is a greater degree of variety in retail systems in use compared to ecommerce and even ticketing, suggesting there is a considerable degree of competition in the market. Some organisations are using the same systems across both retail and catering functions, indicating a preference for integrated solutions that streamline operations.
Catering EPOS Systems
Catering systems show a similar pattern, with a few organisations using dedicated catering systems, while others apply multi-use EPOS solutions that handle both retail and catering needs. The use of multi-functional systems suggests a need for flexibility in handling various aspects of the visitor experience. There are a wide variety of platforms in use with no dominant player emerging from our survey. Examples in use across the sector include Lightspeed, Cybertill, and Access Gamma. But this question elicited the most variety of responses.
Again this shouldn’t be surprising, given the scale of different catering operations. A recent Cultural Enterprises Benchmarking Survey found that 53% of catering operations operate in-house, with 47% outsourcing to contract caterers, influencing the systems in use.
Contactless Donation Systems
Goodbox is the dominant provider in the contactless donation category. While not every organisation reported using contactless donation tools, those that do often choose Goodbox, likely due to its focus on the cultural and charity sectors, offering easy-to-use hardware for in-person donations and wider fundraising opportunities.
Many organisations are using their existing EPOS and ticketing systems to take donations, for example Spektrix or Shopify, while others are using similar charity-focus donation technology to Goodbox, PAYA and Square being recurrent examples.
With 40% of respondents not listing a contactless donation system (removing those who didn’t know) this suggests there is room to grow frictionless donations in some organisations.
Conclusion
Overall, the data highlights the variety of systems in use across ticketing, retail, catering, and donations. The competing demands of flexibility, integrations, and cost control are never easy. There is demand for systems that will connect multiple areas of the visitor experience, and I would expect to see that only increase as organisations look to integrate systems for reporting and financial efficiencies. Multi-use systems can also reduce staff training requirements, but may also mean organisations are more reliant on one system across the business.
While no single solution dominates in any category, with the exception of ecommerce, there is a clear preference for reliable, well-supported systems that cater to both the specific requirements of the cultural sector and broader visitor experience and income generation goals. This variety likely reflects the diverse operational scales and focuses of different institutions in the sector.
We work with a range of suppliers who provide specialist services for our members in all of these areas, and our Supplier Directory is the perfect place to find them.
