As the ticketing and live events industry works to improve pricing clarity and increase confidence in the purchase experience, attention is shifting to what enables those efforts behind the scenes.

Data is no longer just something that organizations collect. It is increasingly becoming the foundation for understanding audiences, shaping decisions, building long-term relationships and creating a strong, end-to-end experience.

In this third installment of our four-part series, INTIX explores trends 14 through 18, focusing on how data and personalization are redefining the ways organizations connect with their audiences.

Earlier installments in this series examined the growing influence of AI across ticketing and the industry’s shifting approach to trust, transparency and pricing.

14. Data as the Foundation for Lasting Relationships

For many organizations, data is even more central to how relationships are being built and sustained.

“When I talk with our members, I hear consistently that data is their most valuable asset,” says Karyn Elliott, Chief Member Officer at Tessitura Network. “Having comprehensive data enables them to understand what turns one-time ticket buyers into loyal patrons, whether that means personalizing communications, offering the right up-sell opportunity at the right moment or identifying supporters who may be ready to engage as donors. And that data is the difference between a sporadic relationship that struggles to build momentum and a loyal patron committed to supporting their mission.”

Andrew Kerzak, Ticketing, Inventory, Pricing and Data Analyst for Churchill Downs, is closely watching how data strategies within ticketing teams evolve.

“Historically, much of the industry has been built on transactional sales data. What was purchased, when and at what price. That foundation alone won’t cut it for more advanced pricing and personalization. Moving forward, organizations will need to incorporate richer behavioral and economic data and will need to understand not just what customers do, but why they do it. This includes factors such as browsing behavior, price sensitivity, event preferences and broader economic signals that influence spending.

Kerzak continues, “For example, two customers purchasing the same ticket may have entirely different decision drivers. One may be highly price-sensitive and respond to discounts, while another may prioritize convenience or premium experiences. Treating these guests the same in pricing and offers would be extremely inefficient. I’m interested to see how teams work to differentiate these types of customers.”

15. Personalization

“AI-driven personalization, especially, is becoming a foundational capability in ticketing, with platforms increasingly using data and machine learning to tailor the entire purchase journey. This includes recommending events based on past behavior, dynamically surfacing relevant inventory and optimizing upsell opportunities such as premium seating,” says Cassie Roberts Dispenza, VP of Strategic Partnerships at Saffire. “In an AI-driven world, people like to feel like the companies they buy from ‘know’ them and are personalized toward them, so this is a win-win for events that secure additional data about their customers, and for customers, who feel like they are given a tailored experience.”

Bethany Nothstein, Strategic Brand and Sector Engagement Lead at Spektrix, sees personalization quickly shifting from a marketing approach to a core operational requirement.

“Over the next year, the organizations that stand out will be those able to deliver consistent, real-time and relevant experiences across every customer touchpoint. This is no longer something that solely impacts campaigns, but throughout the entire customer journey,” she says.

Nothstein continues, “That level of personalization is reliant on having a truly connected system, where ticketing, CRM, marketing and fundraising work as one, creating a single, up-to-date view of every customer. When data isn’t fragmented across tools, teams can respond to real-time behaviors, build stronger relationships and deliver experiences that feel seamless and intentional. This is exactly why a strong CRM-centered, unified approach is becoming essential.”

16. Owning the Customer Relationship

Ethan Dean, Head of Marketing at Nuweb Group, believes that more often, we will see ticketing move back under the direct ownership of venues.

“When you outsource ticketing, you’re not just outsourcing checkout. You’re outsourcing the relationship with the customer,” he says. “You lose the data that tells you who your audience is, what they buy and how to reach them again. In a world where attention is scarce, that’s not a small thing to give up. You're letting someone else talk to your audience, often about competing events.”

Dean continues, “Ticketing is … no longer a single moment when someone buys a seat. It’s the beginning of a chain [with] upgrades, add-ons, resale, experiences [and] pricing strategies. The initial purchase is just the first move. If you don’t own that layer, you don’t really control any of what comes after, so ticketing starts to look less like plumbing and more like the front door. So, we’ll see more and more venues start to pull ticketing back in-house … Paramount to all of this is first-party data. It’s how you know who came, who didn’t, [and] who might come again. If you don’t control the ticketing, you don’t control that loop.”

Shane Kelly, Head of Live Touring for the Harlem Globetrotters, is watching several of the trends mentioned in this story, including the importance of owning the data that powers customer relationships.

“A few things are really shaping how we think about touring and ticketing right now; personalization at scale, where we’re using data to get a lot more targeted with fans; shorter buying windows, especially in family entertainment, which means we have to be way more agile once we’re on sale; and a bigger push toward direct-to-consumer relationships, where owning that first-party data is key if you want to build something sustainable long-term,” he says.

The evolution of purchase timing will be discussed in part four of our ticketing trends series.

17. Combining Data

Another major trend is extracting the benefit of all data in a ticketing-centric organization, notes Steven Sunshine, CEO of Ticketure.

“Historically, ticketing-centric organizations might use different vendors for ticketing, retail, CRM and marketing/fundraising, making data aggregation difficult,” he says. “Deriving a full 360-degree view of the customer is challenging in this environment. We see a growing trend to aggregate more of these data sources and extract value for ticketing-based organizations.”

“A major area of focus is the move toward a more complete understanding of audience spend and behavior,” says Chris Crossley, Chief Operating Officer at Line-Up. “Historically, ticketing data has been heavily centered on the point of initial ticket purchase. What’s changing is the ability to connect that with pre-visit behavior and in-venue spend to build a much richer picture of the customer.”

He continues, “We are seeing growing interest in combining data across ticketing systems, access control and point-of-sale platforms. When joined effectively, this creates a unified view of the audience journey, from discovery through to on-site experience. Some operators are even exploring technologies like facial recognition to link these touchpoints more seamlessly, though that comes with important considerations around privacy and consent.”

Crossley says the real opportunity sits on top of that data layer, noting that “with a more complete dataset and when combined with AI to process it, teams can begin to identify patterns and make recommendations, whether that’s pricing strategy, product bundling or operational decisions. The combination of better data infrastructure and intelligent analysis has the potential to significantly improve both revenue and customer experience.”

18. From Insight to Loyalty

As organizations gain a clearer understanding of their audiences, the focus is shifting toward long-term engagement. Josh Logan, Director, Marketing and Ticketing Championships at the NCAA, sees data playing an increasingly important role in decision-making.

“Ticketing operations are becoming more analytical and intentional. There is a clear shift away from relying solely on historical trends and toward leveraging real-time demand signals and proactive adjustments. The organizations that will be most successful are those that use ticketing data to inform decision-making across marketing, scheduling, and fan engagement, not just to measure sales volume.”

Ben Dostal, Director of Ticketing and Analytics at Fox Theatre Atlanta, sees this as an opportunity to build deeper connections through experiences.

“As technology takes on more responsibility for pricing, inventory management, add-ons, wayfinding and seat selection, it frees our teams to focus on what truly matters: designing better experiences,” he says.

“Venue loyalty has never been something providers can count on — and our own data backs that up. AudienceView's 2026 Ticket Buyer Reports, conducted in partnership with TheaterMania and WhatsOnStage, found that only about 25% of ticket buyers make repeat purchases at the same venue. That's not a new problem. It's the reality of this industry, and it should be a call to action,” says Steve Baumgartner, Chief Revenue Officer for AudienceView.

He continues, “The strongest operators today are no longer managing ticketing, memberships, donations and marketing in silos. They are unifying those touchpoints and using their consumer data — purchasing behavior, attendance patterns, engagement history — to make smarter decisions: targeting the right buyers, selling upgrades, driving return visits [and] informing programming. The result is communication that feels personal and relevant, not transactional. When that connection is made, you can measure it — audiences pay attention, the event experience feels seamless and most importantly, they come back.”

In the final installment of our 2026 ticketing trends series, we will explore distribution, purchase timing, attendance patterns, the evolving role of the ticketing professional and more.

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You May Also Like

• 2026 Ticketing Industry Trends – Part 1: AI at the Center of Ticketing’s Next Chapter
• 2026 Ticketing Trends – Part 2: Trust, Transparency and Pricing

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