Pickup time: What it is and why you should track it

What is pickup time?

In the event industry, pickup time refers to the time between when a ticket is purchased and when the event takes place. Pickup time tells you how early – or how close to the event – your customers are buying their tickets. A longer pickup time is desirable because it gives you a longer “in-between period” to sell more tickets, communicate with customers, and work with upselling opportunities.

Example: If your customer buys a ticket 50 days before the event takes place (regardless of whether ticket sales opened 60 or 100 days before), the pickup time is 50 days. That means you have 50 days to communicate with your customer, promote add-ons, and build engagement.

Why analyze pickup time?

Here are four reasons why it’s worth understanding when your audience buys their tickets:

1. Forecast ticket sales

The most obvious reason: you want to sell out. You want to make sure every seat is filled and maximize your ticket revenue.

With pickup time data, you can see how ticket sales have performed in the past and get a better sense of what to expect for your next concert, match, or performance.

2. Plan your marketing smarter

Pickup time data helps you plan communication, pricing, and campaigns at the right moment – when your audience is actually buying. It makes it easier to know when to push your ads and when to save your budget. You avoid wasting effort too early and can instead hit the right timing, message, and channels.

3. Improve cash flow

By selling tickets earlier, you improve your cash flow. The earlier your audience buys, the more paydays they’ll have before the event – and the more willing they’ll be to spend money both before and during the event.

Create multiple marketing touchpoints between purchase and event: share tips about food, merch, programs, upgrades, and add-ons – things that make the experience even more memorable (and boost your revenue).

4. Reduce the risk of drop-offs

A longer pickup time also reduces the risk of cancellations or no-shows. When a ticket is purchased early, it’s already locked into the customer’s calendar – meaning factors like bad weather, a birthday party, or a surprise visit from grandma are less likely to get in the way.

Three pickup time insights from the event industry

What does pickup time look like across the event industry? Here’s a selection of charts and statistics from our report "The MarketHype Report: Pickup time in the event industry"! (Download it for free.)

The report is based on data from 2023–2024 and analyzes pickup time and ticket purchases from event organizations across the Nordics. It covers ten industry segments, nearly seven million orders, and over four million unique contacts. All data originates from event organizers connected to MarketHype.

1. Number of ticket purchases per week leading up to the event

The chart above shows the number of orders placed each week before an event, during 2023 and 2024. The data includes ten different industry segments. As you can see, most orders (3 074 676) were placed during the final week before the event – and fewer the further away the event date was.

2. Average pickup time by industry segment

The boxes above show the average pickup time (in days) across nine industry segments, listed alphabetically. The shortest average pickup time was found among museums and cultural heritage institutions (8 days), while the longest was among promoters and booking agencies (146 days).