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Ticketing platform Eventbrite has a new lookand an overhauled mobile app. The company just unveiled its first brand refresh and app redesign since 2019, signaling its increasing focus on surfacing event recommendations for its users.Coming less than a week after Eventbrite shared its Q4 and full-year 2024 earningsposting a loss of $8.4 million for the quarter and loss of $15.6 million for the yearthe new app is designed, in part, to help shore up the companys 10% year-over-year decline in ticket sales by emphasizing event discovery. To do that, CEO and cofounder Julia Hartz tells Fast Company that Eventbrites strategy is cribbing somewhat from the music streaming world. We believe that event discovery should be as intuitive as discovering music on Spotify, she says. [Image: Eventbrite]The redesign and strategy shift is also informed by Eventbrites consumer research, which found users between 18 and 34 increasingly driven to attend live eventswhich Hartz calls fourth spacesby a desire to bring their online interests into the real worldfrom podcasts to cooking and crafting. Were highlighting that niche is the new mass, especially for Gen Z and live experiences, she says. Driving DiscoveryPutting a new app at the center of its strategy is how Eventbrite wants to capitalize on a highly engaged subset of users. Some 10% of the companys 90 million monthly active users use the app, and that number is increasing at about 17% year over year. In a move pulled straight from streaming, Eventbrites Discover tab offers users recommendations based on past purchases. The new app also introduces It Listguides to events in 12 markets curated by more than 25 people Eventbrite calls cultural creators. In Chicago, for example, author Rebecca Makkai offers a guide to social art and literature events, and in Toronto, DJ Hangaëlle gives users a guide to the citys nightlife. Users are able to save events theyre interested to come back to later, with a dedicated Saved tab in the app. [Image: Eventbrite]Curated discovery is a game-changer Hartz says, noting that early tests found that users engaging with It Lists are twice as likely to buy a ticket. Thats not a new concept, but we bring it to life in this new experience. We know a lot about consumers, what they want to do, and how to drive action from intent, which is a big leap when youre thinking about buying tickets to an event.The new app also builds in a social function, allowing users to find and follow friends and see what events they may be attending. Hartz teases more features down the line, including user-generated It Lists. [That would be] another way of connecting with your digital community and getting your friends to want to go out and experience real life with you, she says. [Image: Eventbrite]Giving organizers a boostHartzs comparison to the Spotify experience in the new app also extends to Eventbrites tools that help hosts promote their upcoming events. Since 2022, Eventbrite Ads has been a way for event planners to boost visibility of a listingnot unlike Spotifys Discover Mode, which artists use to be promoted into a listeners autoplay mix. [Image: Eventbrite]The ads program, which was introduced in 2022, has been a solid growth driver for the company, posting year-over-year revenue increases of 34% in Q4 and 83% for the full year. Hartz told investors last week that events using the ads tool sold four times more tickets than events that didnt. She says thats in part because of how engaged its app users are versus users on social media. [Image: Eventbrite]While youre getting a mass audience on Instagram, youre getting a super high-intent audience on Eventbrite, she says, noting that app users are two and half times more active in ticket sales than other users. Thats helped incentivize bringing the ads program into the redesigned app. Were expanding Ads placements to be in heavily trafficked places like It Lists and and category-specific landing pages, Hartz says. Were making it possible for creators to partake in that high-intent experience.[Image: Eventbrite]Cornering the fourth spaceIn surveying the swath of Gen Z and millennials aged 18 to 34, Hartz says Eventbrite is seeing the long tail of pandemic-fueled isolation start to evolve into renewed interest in IRL experiencesbut for increasingly niche interests cultivated online. Eventbrite found three-quarters of the people it surveyed planned to spend more money on live events in the next six months. With home, work, and public spaces like parks and cafes constituting the first, second, and third spaces, Hartz sees these eventsamong them cosplay speed dating, run clubs, and culinary experiencesas a fourth space.[Image: Eventbrite]Theres a mashup of niche interests coming together in really creative ways offline, she says. We think of ourselves as the infrastructure for fourth spaces.When talking about Eventbrites focus on surfacing new events for niche audiences, Hartz sounds more like the head of a streamer than a ticketing platform. Its an ambitious framing, but its not an accident.Were not ticketing large concerts and arenas and stadiumswere ticketing everything else that isnt a backyard barbecue or birthday party, she says. Because of that, I think of Eventbrites content as a new type of mediacontent brought to life in tiny and massive ways. I think you could say that our competition is staying home and sitting on the couch.
Category:
E-Commerce
Sales and profits slipped for Target during the crucial holiday quarter as customers held back on spending and the company said there will be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year because of tariffs and other costs.The retailer beat most estimates, however, and shares rose slightly before the opening bell Tuesday.Target reported net income of $1.1 billion, or $2.41 per share, far better than the $2.26 that Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey by FactSet. That is down from the $1.38 billion profit the company reported in the same period last year, though the most recent quarter had one fewer week of sales.Revenue fell to $30.91 billion, from $31.9 billion, but that also beat expectations.Americans have been pulling back on spending and retailers face a lot of uncertainty in the year ahead.President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, pushing markets in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. lower, and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies, not to mention China.China said Tuesday that it will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of key U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soy, and beef, and also expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies.Consumers have already been pulling back on discretionary spending because the costs of groceries have risen so sharply. That is an area where Target can be vulnerable because so much of its sales come from discretionary items like clothing, electronics purchases.Target said Tuesday that it expects sales to be flat in 2025, and that its earnings per share will be between $8.80 and $9.80. Wall Street had been projecting per-share earnings of $9.29 for the year.During the most recent quarter, comparable salesthose from stores and digital channels operating for at least 12 monthsrose 1.5%. That was higher than the 0.3% gain during the third quarter. Target posted a 2% gain in the second quarter and a 3.7% drop in the first quarter.Speaking about the current quarter, Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee said that sales declined in February in part because of brutal weather across the U.S. But sales should pick up, Lee said.“We will continue to monitor these trends and will remain appropriately cautious with our expectations for the year ahead,” Lee said. Anne D’Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer
Category:
E-Commerce
Almost half of Americans have considered or plan to move abroad to improve their happiness, according to a Harris poll published today. Specifically, the poll found that four in 10 Americans have at least thought about leaving the country within the next few years. And among Gen Z and millennials, almost one in five respondents reported seriously considering an imminent move. The results show that Americans are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the American Dream as the cost of essentials like rent, healthcare, and education continues to rise. Here are three main takeaways from the poll: Home ownership and cost of living are top of mind Per the new poll, 68% of Americans are in agreement about two key statements: These days I feel like I am surviving instead of thriving, and Homeownership is no longer attainable for most American citizens. Of those who said that theyd consider moving out of the U.S., 49% reported cost of living as their primary consideration. Dissatisfaction with the current political leadership ranked as the second highest concern. Sentiments around cost of living revealed in this poll are backed up by several recent reports. In early February, an update from the Labor Department showed that the consumer price indexan inflation barometer that considers essential costs like gas, groceries, and carswas up 3.3% year-over-year, compared to the previous January. For the past six months, inflation rates have hovered above the Feds 2% target. Meanwhile, Zillows most recent Home Value Index found that, As elevated mortgage rates dampen demand for home purchases, many potential buyers are staying renters for longer, predicting a 3.7% rise in single-family rents for 2025. The current economic reality can be even more disheartening for families: Based on a recent analysis by the National Womens Law Center, the average family would need to earn at least $180,000 annually in 2025 to comfortably afford the national cost of infant care. Who is more likely to be eyeing the exit? According to the new Harris Poll, these converging economic factors are more likely to push away younger, non-white, and LGBTQ+ Americans. While only 25% of Gen X and 26% of baby boomers said theyd considered moving abroad, 63% of Gen Zers and 52% of millennials said the same, respectively. Additionally, LGBTQIA+, Hispanic, and Black respondents were all more likely to consider moving. Dual citizenship is attractive for young Americans Younger Americans also expressed a greater desire than their older counterparts to obtain dual citizenship, with 66% of Gen Zers and millennials affirming that they were at least somewhat interested in pursuing it for travel freedom, economic opportunities, and better access to public services. The top 10 countries that Americans would consider moving to, in order, are as follows: Canada The U.K. Australia France Italy Japan Mexico Spain Germany New Zealand
Category:
E-Commerce
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