Introduction
In the fast-paced live events environment, maintaining operational efficiency and maximizing revenue are critical for success. atVenu has revolutionized the way event organizers manage sales and operations. This case study explores how upgrading to atVenu's innovative POS solution has significantly benefited venues, enhancing accountability, accuracy, speed of settlements, and overall profitability.
To tackle these challenges, The KIA Forum, Snapdragon Stadium, and Scotiabank Arena rely on atVenu. With limited time for sales, it's crucial to know if there's potential to sell more merchandise and to be able to execute on that opportunity.
Every event is different. One artist could sell $1 Million in a single night, and other artists may sell $100K. Knowing that information changes how many merch stands you want to have, how many people, and where you may want them. Having flexibility at an event is crucial in being able to maximize your sales.
-Gene | HappyBelly Vending for Snapdragon Stadium
Challenges
Before adopting atVenu, Snapdragon Stadium, The KIA Forum, and Scotiabank Arena faced several challenges:
Limited Accountability
Traditional POS systems didn’t offer location-level visibility or robustreporting, making it difficult to track inventory movement, reconcile sales, orsettle shows with accuracy.
"If you run out of your top-selling tee at one stand but have itsitting in the back, that's just money lost. Without real-time visibility,you’re guessing instead of selling."
Slow and Inaccurate Settlements
Manual reconciliation led to late nights and errors that delayed payoutsand caused friction between venue staff, tour managers, and vendors.
"Before atVenu, we’d be lucky to finish by 2 AM. Now, my team’s outof there four hours earlier—every night. That’s thousands saved in labor."
— Brett Kauffman, CEO of PDS (Operations for The KIA Forum)
Inefficient Merchandise Management
Tracking real-time inventory by location/stand was difficult, resulting in early sell-outs of top-selling items in specific locations and larger volumes remaining in other areas, leading to missed revenue opportunities.
Poor Customer Experience
Long lines, slow transactions, and limited payment options frustratedfans and hurt conversion rates. Using outdated or inflexible point-of-sale systems often leads to long lines, slow checkouts, and payment limitations—resulting in frustrated fans and missed sales. A poor experience atthe merch stand can diminish the overall event impression and reduce return visits.
“When fans have to wait 20 minutes just to buy a shirt—especially when they can’t even use the payment method they want—it reflects badly on theentire event. We were losing sales and disappointing our guests before we switched to atVenu.”
— Venue Operations Manager
Lack of Real-Time Data
Venues lacked access to real-time data and insights, making it difficult to make informed decisions during events and plan for future ones.
Solution:
atVenu's all in one solution addresses these challenges through several key features:
Flexible Deployment
atVenu's point of sale solution offered stadiums the flexibility to deploy and manage sales locations efficiently, adapting to the unique requirements of each event without extensive setup time or resources.
Dynamic Sales Footprint
Leveraging atVenu, stadiums could dynamically expand and adjust their sales footprint based on event needs, seamlessly adding last-minute stands in parking lots or around the stadium with minimal effort.
Real-Time Inventory Management
atVenu's real-time inventory management capabilities provided stadiums with full visibility into inventory levels, enabling proactive decision-making, preventing selling out of items at specific stands, and optimizing inventory.
VIP Service Integration
Integrating concierge and VIP service within atVenu's point of sale system enabled venues to deliver personalized experiences while maintaining operational efficiency and consistency across all service points through mobile ordering and the use of concierge service. Fans were able to have an elevated experience in VIP while also helping reduce lines and waiting for fans.
Mobile Ordering
atVenu's mobile ordering functionality empowered fans to conveniently order merchandise from their phones and pick up within the venue, reducing wait times, enhancing convenience, and elevating the overall fan experience.
Results
Improved Operational Efficiency
By leveraging atVenu's flexible deployment and real-time inventory management capabilities, stadiums achieved greater operational efficiency, reducing setup time, optimizing resource allocation, and minimizing waste.
Enhanced Fan Experience
The integration of VIP service and mobile ordering capabilities, coupled with dynamic sales footprint adjustments, significantly enhanced the fan experience, reducing wait times, increasing convenience, and elevating satisfaction levels.
Preventing Lost Revenue
With more visibility, flexibility, and real-time data, venues maximized selling potential, reduced shrinkage, and unlocked new revenue streams through mobile and VIP sales.
In live events, the sales window is short—and every delay, sellout, or tech hiccup can mean lost revenue. Before using atVenu, venues lacked the real-time visibility needed to catch issues before they cost them.
With atVenu, staff can instantly identify low inventory, restock fast, adjust pricing or promotions on the fly, and keep top-selling items available across all locations. That agility helps venues avoid missed sales and disappointed fans.
atVenu’s mobile and VIP integrations also reduce friction, letting fans skip lines and pay their way—capturing more sales that would’ve otherwise been lost.
“Before atVenu, we didn’t know what we were missing until it was too late. Now, we can react in real time, move inventory where it’s needed, and make sure no sale slips through the cracks.”
— Director of Venue Merchandise Operations, Climate Pledge Arena
Conclusion
Upgrading to atVenu’s POS solution gives venues a competitive edge. With increased accountability, accurate settlements, and dynamic sales tools, atVenu transforms merchandise operations from a logistical challenge into a powerful revenue engine.
Whether it's speeding up reconciliation, enhancing fan satisfaction, or unlocking more revenue per head, atVenu is the trusted partner for venues looking to do more—with less stress.
Ready to see what atVenu can do for your venue? Reach out today.
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