Ridesharing services aren’t just a way for passengers to get from Point A to Point B: They can also enable retailers and brands to provide in-car shopping experiences. With Cargo, consumers can instantly order snacks, cosmetics and electronics, among other items, while on their trips. And, through a new partnership with SeatGeek, its roster of products has grown beyond tangible products like snacks. Customers will now also be able to purchase tickets at a discount through the service.
With the in-car commerce offering, passengers in a Cargo-equipped vehicle will be able to enter their driver’s unique code into the “mobile menu.” They can then search tickets available for sale on SeatGeek. Once they have selected a ticket for purchase, customers can check out with a credit card or mobile wallet (Apple Pay or Google Pay). “It’s all happening within the Cargo web app in a pretty seamless way,” SeatGeek Global Director of Partnerships Lee Moulton told PYMNTS in an interview.
The company said in a press release that passengers can receive an exclusive deal on the tickets, which is only available when they are in a rideshare vehicle. The idea is to encourage passengers to buy their tickets through the Cargo mobile menu. Whether it is through native ticket sales on Facebook or ticket sales through Cargo, Moulton noted that the “consumer needs some kind of incentive or benefit” aside from convenience. The hope is that the incentive will compel consumers to buy through the platform.
The Market
The offering comes as Moulton has noticed two macro trends in the market. For one, he said consumers are buying tickets closer and closer to actual events – and sometimes, they are looking to buy tickets while en route to an event, or even in line for an event. In fact, when Cargo was brainstorming ideas, rideshares were among the venues that the company thought would be a good place to reach consumers buying last-minute tickets. In the second macro trend, Moulton noted that Cargo has received extensive attention and adoption across the United States.
SeatGeek has also worked to enable consumers to purchase tickets in other environments. In June, it was announced that the company was working with Snapchat to help users purchase tickets through the social media company’s app. Through that integration, athletes and performers could sell tickets directly to their fans via the platform. It was reported that champion boxer Errol Spence Jr., for example, posted tickets in his Snapchat story for an upcoming bout.
The Road Ahead
Heading into the future, Moulton also has his eye on autonomous cars as a potential market. He doesn’t think that there will be drivers in cars in the next 10 or 15 years. As a result, passengers will be looking for something to do in those vehicles, and they could become places where people can spend money and shop. “We want to be part of that ecosystem,” Moulton said. By partnering with Cargo, which could be the eCommerce solution for autonomous cars in the future, he believes SeatGeek will be one of the first movers in the industry.
The view is shared by Cargo Founder and CEO Jeff Cripe, who, in a press release, noted that the advent of self-driving vehicles and those driven by others through rideshares is “causing a profound shift from a driver-led to a passenger-led economy.” Amid that change, Cripe noted that Cargo seeks to create a “single in-car platform on top of an exclusive network of rideshare and product partners like Uber, SeatGeek, Snapchat, The Coca Cola Company, Kellogg’s and more.”
With such platforms, in-car commerce platforms are helping to create a world of shopping opportunities for drivers who are becoming passengers with the help of rideshares and self-driving cars.
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