Technology

StubHub Opens Flagship Store in NYC

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New Midtown location provides end-to-end event going experience for buyers and sellers

StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, today announced the opening of its flagship retail store location in New York City. Located just two blocks south of Times Square, the flagship store serves as an ideal destination for fans to find the events that are right for them, through technology and world-class customer service that simplifies buying, selling, and accessing incredible live experiences.

StubHub’s new flagship store features a full service desk for buying and selling tickets, expert customer service representatives to recommend events and assist fans on site, and an in-venue event space for artist meet and greets, autograph signings and speaking engagements. The store also includes other customer experience enhancements such as a photo booth and ticket kiosks where fans can find upcoming events around New York City and anywhere else around the world. These features are designed to create a better end-to-end customer experience for live event goers and strengthen StubHub’s commitment to connecting fans with inspiring event experiences across the globe.

“We are thrilled to open our flagship store in the heart of New York City to further serve our fans and inspire them to experience the world through incredible live events,” said Glenn Feinberg, Head of Flagship Operations at StubHub. “With this new store location, StubHub is creating a more personal relationship with our fans and providing them with an amazing event going experience in the greatest city in the world.”

StubHub uses technology to enhance and improve people’s live experiences, and the new flagship store serves as an extension of its award winning customer service. Whether online, mobile or in person, StubHub is dedicated to connecting fans to the artists, athletes and performers they love.

StubHub’s New York City flagship was designed by Gensler and is now open every day, Monday – Sunday, from 9am to 9pm. The flagship is located at 1412 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and 39th St in Manhattan. Come join us to plan your next live event experience!

StubHub Introduces New Skill for Microsoft Cortana to Make Event Discovery as Easy as Asking for Ideas

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StubHub Skill for Cortana Builds on Success of the StubHub Chatbot for Skype and Leverages Entire Microsoft Bot Framework

 

SAN FRANCISCO – MAY 11, 2017 — StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, today announced the launch of its new “Skill” for Microsoft Cortana, a voice assistant that helps consumers discover the live events and experiences they want to attend. The StubHub Skill for Cortana is the latest innovation in StubHub’s artificial intelligence (AI) portfolio, which also includes chatbots for Skype and Facebook Messenger.

 

To use the StubHub Skill, consumers with the Cortana assistant simply ask for live event ideas by saying, “Cortana, ask StubHub to find me something fun to do tonight,” “Cortana, ask StubHub to find baseball tickets next week,” or similar phrases related to live music, sports and theater. The StubHub Skill then takes consumers through a discovery process based on where they are, what they like, and when they are available, to connect them with ideas for live events.

 

“Think of the StubHub Skill for Cortana like a concierge that suggests what people can do based on their interests and what their friends are doing, in a natural, conversational, one-to-one experience,” said Mats Nilsson, head of product, UX and PMO for StubHub. “We believe the StubHub Skill for Cortana can help consumers get ideas for live events at the moment they’re inspired to go out, with minimal friction in the experience, as easily as talking with their friends.”

 

In building the StubHub Skill for Cortana, StubHub leveraged the Microsoft Bot Framework, and well as LUIS, Microsoft’s proprietary natural language processing (NLP) AI, and added a layer of inputs from a variety of StubHub sources to create the most conversational experience possible. StubHub engineers analyzed the results of the StubHub chatbot for Skype to understand people’s expectations and how their conversations evolved, and also tapped into a key StubHub differentiator – the face-to-face interactions between StubHub’s Last-Minute Services (LMS) team and their customers – to understand the types of conversations people have in real life about StubHub, and how the StubHub Skill for Cortana could simulate those.

 

About StubHub

At StubHub, our mission is simple: help fans find fun. We connect fans with their favorite teams, shows and artists and introduce them to the ones they’ll love next. As the largest ticket marketplace in the world, we enable fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of events, whenever they want, through our desktop and mobile experiences, including our StubHub app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android. Offering a superior fan experience at its core, StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead it through innovation. Our industry firsts include the introduction of the first ticketing application, the first interactive seat mapping tool and the first live entertainment rewards program, Fan Rewards™. Our business partners include more than 130 properties in MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and NCAA, plus AEG, AXS and Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement. With the acquisition of Ticketbis in August 2016, throughout the world, StubHub provides the total end-to-end event going experience. StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY).  For more information on StubHub, visit StubHub.com or follow @StubHub on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or YouTube.com/StubHub.

StubHub recognized by CIO as one of the CIO 100 award winners

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Honorees to receive award during CIO 100 Symposium & Awards Ceremony

 

MAY 1, 2017 – SAN FRANCISCO—IDG’s CIO today announced StubHub as a recipient of the 2017 CIO 100 honoree award. The 30th annual award program recognizes organizations around the world that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology (IT).

 

“Technology innovation and business value have always been at the heart of our CIO 100 awards, which honor the IT organizations thriving on the front lines of the digital revolution,” said Maryfran Johnson, Editor in Chief, CIO Events. “This year’s winning companies are outstanding examples of how IT leadership, business collaboration and customer engagement are shaping the future.”

 

“At StubHub, we know that the key to our customers’ happiness lies in continually innovating and enhancing every aspect of attending a live event,” said Marty Boos, StubHub CIO. “In order to satisfy this ambitious goal, we’re always looking for ways to expand our product and technology footprint to, address all underlying program issues, improve our own internal productivity, and maintain a critical eye on our technological infrastructure. In turn, StubHub customers experience a seamless ticket purchasing process. We’re thrilled that IDG’s CIO has acknowledged our team with this prestigious award for their hard work to accomplish these objectives.”

 


StubHub is the largest ticket marketplace in the world with a presence in 48 countries, enabling fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of live events. StubHub provides a superior event-going experience on desktop and mobile platforms, giving fans anytime, anywhere access to their favorite teams, shows and artists through apps on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Android.

 

Executives from the winning companies will be recognized at The CIO 100 Symposium & Awards Ceremony, to be held Wednesday evening, August 16th, at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

About the CIO 100

Recipients of this year’s CIO 100 Award were selected through a three-step process. First, companies filled out an online application form detailing their innovative IT and business initiatives. Next, a team of external judges (many of them former CIOs) reviewed the applications in depth, looking for leading-edge IT practices and measurable results. Finally, CIO editors reviewed the judges’ evaluations and selected the final 100.

 
Coverage of the 2017 CIO 100 Awards will be available online at CIO.com on August 16, 2017 and in the July/August issue of CIO’s digital magazine.

 

About StubHub

At StubHub, our mission is simple: help fans find fun. We connect fans with their favorite teams, shows and artists and introduce them to the ones they’ll love next. As the largest ticket marketplace in the world, we enable fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of events, whenever they want, through our desktop and mobile experiences, including our StubHub app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android. Offering a superior fan experience at its core, StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead it through innovation. Our industry firsts include the introduction of the first ticketing application, the first interactive seat mapping tool and the first live entertainment rewards program, Fan Rewards™. Our business partners include more than 130 properties in MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and NCAA, plus AEG, AXS and Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement. With the acquisition of Ticketbis in August 2016, throughout the world, StubHub provides the total end-to-end event going experience. StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY).

 

For more information on StubHub, visit StubHub.com.

Follow StubHub on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.

 

About CIO:

CIO from IDG is the premier content and community resource for information technology executives and leaders thriving and prospering in this fast-paced era of IT transformation in the enterprise.  The award-winning CIO portfolio — CIO.com, CIO executive programs, CIO Strategic Marketing Services, CIO Forum on LinkedIn, CIO Executive Council and CIO primary research — provides business technology leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT’s role in achieving business goals. Additionally, CIO provides opportunities for IT solution providers to reach this executive IT audience.  The CIO Executive Council is a professional organization of CIOs created to serve as an unbiased and trusted peer advisory group. CIO is published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of IDG.

 

Company information is available at http://www.idgenterprise.com/.

Follow IDG Enterprise on Twitter @IDGEnterprise.

Follow CIO on Twitter @CIOonline, or with the hashtags #CIO100 and #CIOHOF.

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StubHub Introduces New Social Tools To Make Planning, Organizing and Attending Events More Engaging

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New Facebook and iMessage Integrations, as well as a Facebook Messenger Chatbot, Help Fans Better Connect Over Live Experiences

 

SAN FRANCISCO — APRIL 11, 2017 — StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, today announced the launch of its new social suite of tools, which helps fans seamlessly discover, share and plan live event experiences with friends. StubHub’s new integration with Facebook, its new iMessage app, and a new Facebook Messenger chatbot will bring people closer together around the live events they love.

 

Available with the latest update of the StubHub app, the new social tools enable users to connect with their Facebook friends within the StubHub app to see which events they are planning on attending, as well as which artists, teams and venues are of interest to them. This integration builds on StubHub’s Facebook login functionality that was introduced last year as the foundation to build a more socially connected experience on StubHub.

“Live events are inherently social experiences, and our new social suite of tools helps StubHub customers better connect with their friends to plan and attend their favorite live events,” said Mats Nilsson, head of product, UX and PMO at StubHub. “As live events continue to increase in popularity for the value they contribute to creating incredible memories, StubHub is innovating our experience to make it easier, more fun and more social to live life LIVE.”

 

In addition, StubHub launched the StubHub app within iMessage, which allows users to easily browse events and quickly share multiple ticket options with friends through iMessage. With iMessage, the “planner” can select up to five sets of ticket options and send to their friends to compare and vote. The “recipients” receive an iMessage that opens the StubHub app, and lets them view and vote on their favorite seating option. Once recipients cast their votes, the results are automatically sent back to the planner within iMessage, and any member of the group can move forward to purchase the tickets through StubHub — all without leaving the iMessage app.

 

Also announced today, StubHub has developed and launched its second chatbot as a new way to connect with customers and help them discover the best live events. Built on key learnings from its Skype chatbot, StubHub’s new Facebook Messenger chatbot serves as a personal event concierge, asking questions and recommending local and upcoming events based on the information that a user supplies. StubHub’s Facebook Messenger experience caters to on-the-go consumers, swiftly providing relevant, highly personalized options, streamlining event discovery and checkout, and making it easier to plan a night out.

 

About StubHub

At StubHub, our mission is simple: help fans find fun. We connect fans with their favorite teams, shows and artists and introduce them to the ones they’ll love next. As the largest ticket marketplace in the world, we enable fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of events, whenever they want, through our desktop and mobile experiences, including our StubHub app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android. Offering a superior fan experience at its core, StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead it through innovation. Our industry firsts include the introduction of the first ticketing application, the first interactive seat mapping tool and the first live entertainment rewards program, Fan Rewards™. Our business partners include more than 130 properties in MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and NCAA, plus AEG, AXS and Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement. With the acquisition of Ticketbis in August 2016, throughout the world, StubHub provides the total end-to-end event going experience. StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY).  For more information on StubHub, visit StubHub.com or follow @StubHub on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or YouTube.com/StubHub.

StubHub Launches First Ticketing App for Apple TV

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App encourages people to get off the couch and discover their ticket out

OCT. 3, 2016 – SAN FRANCISCO – With mobile becoming an integral part of the event experience, StubHub today announced the first ticketing app for Apple TV. Designed to be purposefully different from its core mobile app experiences, the new StubHub app for Apple TV is less transactional and more emotional – and encourages people to browse and discover events nearby or in a city aross the U.S.

Specially designed for 4th gen Apple TV, the new StubHub app builds on the theory that the best screen is life-size. It takes advantage of a large-format TV screen to showcase event imagery and an energetic, highly visual design aesthetic within StubHub’s new, dynamic brand look and feel.

In creating this design aesthetic, StubHub’s designers and engineers had to consider new use cases for Apple TV and design for the person who isn’t sure what they want to do, or who needs extra motivation to get out of the house. The design was tested and iterated through several rounds of user feedback, in which StubHub designers added the side-scroll interface for browsing within a seating section of a specific event, and included high-resolution seat maps on the listing cards so consumers could get a clear idea of the view from the section in which they were considering tickets.

“We know that most people will be interacting with our app from their couch, as they’re looking for something to do, so we kept the StubHub app for Apple TV focused on browsability and discovery, to better motivate people to get up and get out,” said Marcus Shelksohn, director of mobile product. “The StubHub design team wanted to create a more custom interface to reflect the emotional nature of event discovery – and the result is an engaging look and feel that maximizes event imagery and seat maps, and is highly intuitive to navigate.”

As consumers rely even more on their mobile devices to research, access and share their live experiences, StubHub’s goal is to be everywhere their customers are, across multiple screens via multiple devices. For example, StubHub and third-party data shows:

  • Over the next few years, mobile will account for more than 50% of digital tickets purchased1.
  • Fifty-two percent of concert-goers use their mobile devices to look up details about shows2.

The new StubHub app for Apple TV expands on StubHub’s goal to connect consumers to inspiring experiences, and for event-goers to be able to access their favorite events, artists and performers on nearly any screen.

 

1,2StubHub: The Year in Live Events, 2015

 

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StubHub Expands Apple Pay to the Web 

johnnahoff Mobile, Press Release, Technology , ,

StubHub today announced that it will be among the first to bring Apple Pay on the web to customers this fall so they can make easy, secure and private payments in Safari on iPhone, iPad and Mac with a single touch.

 

“StubHub connects fans to inspiring events and experiences, and it’s important that our transaction process is simple and seamless, so customers can focus on the artists, athletes and performers they want to see,” said Mats Nilsson, senior director of product and technology for StubHub. “By expanding Apple Pay beyond our iOS app to our desktop and mobile Web platform, we’re giving customers a convenient, secure way to complete their ticket transactions and get excited for what’s really important – the event.”

 

Apple Pay has been a payment option on StubHub’s iOS app since January 2015, and is popular with StubHub customers. StubHub data shows that Apple Pay users transact more frequently and spend more in total than users of other payment methods in the StubHub iOS app.

 

StubHub plans to add Apple Pay to its Safari checkout flows for iPhone, iPad and Mac users when it is available this fall. The checkout flow will be quick and easy, and customers will be able to check out without the interruption of creating a StubHub account.

 

Security and privacy is at the core of Apple Pay. When you use a credit or debit card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device. Each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code.

 

Apple Pay is easy to set up and users will continue to receive all of the rewards and benefits offered by credit and debit cards. 

 

For more information on Apple Pay, visit: http://www.apple.com/apple-pay/

 

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StubHub Moves Toward End-to-End Platform with New Uber Integration

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Integration allows fans to arrange transportation after ticket purchase, making it easier than ever before to discover and attend events.

San Francisco (July 29, 2015) – StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, today announced a new app integration with Uber, the nation’s leading on-demand ride-hailing service.

After completing a ticket purchase on StubHub, fans will now be able to set a reminder to arrange transportation through Uber when the event is imminent. Users who purchase tickets within two hours of the event will be able to order an Uber directly from the order confirmation page. In both cases, StubHub will automatically share the venue location with Uber.

“At StubHub, we are obsessed with thinking of new ways to create a frictionless event experience. Going to a game or concert involves so much more than just purchasing a ticket — there are a number logistics around the event that fans need to make decisions about,” said Parag Vaish, Head of Mobile. “Our integration with Uber takes one of the most frustrating parts of event-going — transportation — and makes the process infinitely easier. This integration marks another step towards StubHub’s vision to become an end-to-end live entertainment service, moving users from discovery to purchasing to planning.”

The Uber integration will be available within the StubHub iOS and Android apps in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, first-time Uber users will receive a voucher for $20 off their ride. Fans who purchase tickets at one of StubHub’s Last-Minute Service locations will also receive a promotional code to redeem their discount.

About StubHub

StubHub is the world’s largest ticket marketplace, enabling fans the choice to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of sports, concert, theater and other live entertainment events on desktop, tablet or mobile, as well as the ability to discover local live music through its iOS app StubHub Music. Offering a superior fan experience at its core, StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead it through innovation through numerous industry firsts, including the introduction of the industry’s first ticketing application, first interactive seat mapping tool and the first live entertainment Fan Rewards program. The market leader, StubHub is partners with major organizations and brands, including more than 60 teams in MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and NCAA, plus ESPN, NBC Digital, AEG and Paciolan. Throughout North America and Europe, StubHub provides the total end-to-end event going experience that is the way ticket buying should be.

StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). For more information on StubHub, visit StubHub.com, Twitter.com/StubHub, Facebook.com/StubHub, or YouTube.com/StubHub.