Movie tickets website starts scheme
Advance cinema ticket ordering website MovieTickets.Com has launched its first-ever loyalty programme. 
The Red Carpet Rewards Club allows registered members to earn 100 points for each cinema ticket purchased on MovieTickets.com (which has 11 million registered users). The aim is to increase the frequency with which members use the online service; currently, MovieTickets.com does a large part of its business on the opening weekend for blockbuster titles, after which usage drops until the next big release.
Walt Borchers, SVP of sales and marketing for MovieTickets.com said loyalty programmes can increase a repeat customer’s order by up to 25.
He added: “We wanted to start rewarding customers for utilizing MovieTickets.com because, for major blockbusters, we will regularly sell out multiple showings for opening weekends, but the continued use of our service does not always follow. We would like people to use us at any time, and we thought the best way to incentivize that would be to reward consumers.”
Points can be redeemed for prizes, but prizes are auctioned off to the highest points bidder, rather than just bought and sold. Auctions are blind, meaning those bidding do not know what others have bid for the prize. Each auction runs for a month, during which members can bid on three different tiers of prizes.
Borchers added: “It generates excitement and suspense for consumers, and it allows people to get involved right away even when they have low points. They don’t have to stockpile them away for a long time, so they can jump right in and win.”
Prizes include US$100 MovieTickets.com gift cards, iPods, Xboxes and holidays.