Eventbrite Research: Millennials Fuel the Experience Economy Amidst Political Uncertainty

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - June 16, 2017) - Eventbrite, the world's largest event technology platform which powers nearly three million events around the globe each year, today released new research on how people are engaging with live events in a post-election America. Utilizing data sourced by global research firm, Ipsos, the research uncovered that while 84% of Americans believe live events can inspire positive change for the country, Millennials (ages 18-34), continue to be the driving force behind growing event attendance. Often referred to as the "experiences generation," 9 out of 10 (89%) Millennials reported they had attended at least one live event within the past 12 months, up from 82% just three years ago.

Key Millennial insights from the research include:

• Experiences Still Trump Things. When deciding how to spend their money, 3 out of 4 Millennials would rather buy an experience than something desirable, a figure that is consistent with previous Eventbrite research.

• Attendance at Political Events is Increasing. More than a quarter (28%) of Millennials have attended a live event supporting a particular cause in the last year -- compared to 15% of older generations -- and 62% attend more cause-related events now than they did 10 years ago.

• Offline Interaction Promotes Positive Change. While Millennials rely heavily on technology, they are the strongest believers in face-to-face interaction to promote positive change: 3 in 4 (75%) feel that participating in or attending a live event (such as a march or demonstration) is more impactful than taking action online (e.g. signing a petition), compared to just 55% of those aged 35+.

• Live Events Foster Connection and Expand Perspective. Four in five (79%) Millennials report that attending live events makes them feel more connected to other people, the community, and the world -- significantly up from 69% just three years ago -- and 74% said that attending a live event has been more successful at expanding their perspective than just reading about something online.

• Social Capital Matters, Especially to Millennial Parents. Three in five (61%) Millennial parents admit to attending a live event so they have something to share on social channels (compared to 34% of Millennials without children), and 70% use social media to livestream or share their experience in the moment (compared to 47% of Millennials without children) on social channels like Facebook Live and Snapchat.

When considering the impact of the current political climate on live event attendance, the purchasing power of Millennials is key. Millennials are projected to spend upwards of $1.4 trillion in 2020¹, in addition to the $12 trillion "Great" and $30 trillion "Greater" wealth transfers they're expected to inherit from older generations in the coming decades². Their continued preference to buy live experiences over things suggests enormous potential for the live events space -- from concerts, to rallies, to festivals -- in addition to the perception that events promote positive change for the country, connecting us in ways online platforms do not.

"Millennials are the largest living generation and their ever-increasing demand for live experiences is both exciting and encouraging for us, and for the hundreds of thousands of professional organizers that use Eventbrite," said Tamara Mendelsohn, GM of Consumer, Eventbrite. "In addition to confirming that Millennials attend more events than any other generation, the research also uncovered the notion that the current political climate is driving a deep desire for Americans to connect with each other, their communities and the world, and that they see live events as an incredible way to do that."

For more details, please review the full report -- The Experience Movement: How Millennials are Bridging Cultural and Political Divides Offline -- at www.eventbrite.com/l/millennialsreport-2017/

About the Survey

Report findings are from an Ipsos poll conducted April 11th - 16th, 2017, by Crowd DNA, on behalf of Eventbrite. For the survey, a sample of 2,012 adults aged 18+ from the United States was interviewed online, in English. The sample for this study was randomly drawn using Ipsos' online sampling methodology and post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on gender, age, region, race/ethnicity and income based on the 2016 Census ACS. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for all respondents.

About Eventbrite

Eventbrite is the world's leading event technology platform. The company has processed $8 billion in gross ticket sales since inception and powers nearly three million events each year. Hundreds of thousands of organizers use Eventbrite to boost ticket sales, promote and manage events, handle onsite operations, and analyze results across multiple sales channels. Customers include Tribeca Film Festival, Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals, Maker Faire, Wanderlust, and many more. Eventbrite's capabilities are enhanced by Eventbrite Spectrum, the company's open API platform, which provides seamless access to more than 170 industry-leading technologies like Salesforce and Mailchimp. Additionally, over 50 million consumers use Eventbrite every year to discover a variety of live experiences and get tickets on a secure, easy-to-use platform. Founded in 2006, the company has 11 offices in 10 countries. Investors include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price. Learn more at www.eventbrite.com.

¹ Who Are The Millennial Shoppers? And What Do They Really Want?
² The Greater Wealth Transfer