Why Your Theme Park Needs Mobile Apps, Robots and Self-Service Kiosks

New research finds that 75% of U.S. theme park visitors say they often or occasionally decide against buying food and beverage on site because of queuing, while 65% take the same view with regard to buying merchandise.

However, theme parks could see visitors increase spending on food, beverage and merchandise with the availability of consumer-friendly technology solutions, according to Omnico research.

Those who would spend more with a tech-enabled experience would boost spending from $45 to $250 per head on food and merchandise if mobile apps, self-service kiosks and robot deliveries to avoid queues were available, the research reveals. The figures are part of the Omnico Theme Park ROI Barometer, which surveyed 683 consumers from the United States who have visited a park within the last two years, along with 2,653 from the United Kingdom, Japan, China and Malaysia.

Fully half of U.S. visitors say they will spend up to four times more than usual on food and beverage if they can use mobile phone apps to order in advance. Another 47% will quadruple their spend if they can use self-scan apps on their phones or touchscreen kiosks for ordering in food outlets, while 46% will spend up to four times more on merchandise.

Retail spending, for example, will increase from an average $24 to $64 per head if mobile self-scan apps and self-service kiosks are available in park stores. And expenditure on food and beverage will increase from $21 to $59 if the same technologies are implemented in fast-food outlets or restaurants.

If virtual reality guides and experiences, or artificial intelligence-powered recognition systems are used to make their visits easier, 43% of US visitors say they will spend up to four times more than average on an admission ticket.

Overall, the Theme Park ROI Barometer revealed that implementation of technologies that please today's tech-savvy customers can deliver tangible results to theme park operators.