Multiplex cinemas in India have seen revenue from online ticket convenience fees increase rapidly over the past four years, as online sales have steadily risen.
According to data analysed by SBICap Securities, revenue from convenience fees, which is a fee charged when customers book tickets over a digital platform, has grown at a compound annual rate of 85 per cent for multiplex chain operator Inox Leisure and 58 per cent for PVR.
Anshul Agrawal, analyst with SBICap, said, according to India’s Business Standard: “PVR’s convenience fees have grown four times in the last three years and now accounts for four per cent of its total revenue. PVR has been steadfastly growing its online ticket sales, not only to gain from convenience fees but to also improve margins by reducing operational costs (employee expenses, etc).”
Online ticketing has grown across all multiplexes in India during the four-year period, with PVR’s income from convenience fees up to £14m in 2018-19 from £3.6m in 2015-16.
Sidhharth Jain, director of Inox Leisure, said: “Almost half our tickets are sold online and this has been growing at a steady pace. We expect that to keep growing.” Three years earlier, the proportion was around 30 per cent, he added.
Cinepolis, another major multiplex chain operator in the country, said the share of online ticket booking in cities is 80-85 per cent.
Devang Sampat, its deputy chief executive of Cinepolis, added: “There is a behavioural change in the way people book tickets. Five years ago, online ticketing was only 15 per cent of our overall ticket booking. Now, it is 55 per cent.”
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