At the movies: Are consumers happy with the digital experiences offered by cinemas?
Following the pandemic, cinema owners have left very few stones unturned in their bid to welcome audiences back - from installing laser projectors and setting up 70-foot screens, to revamping digital ticketing systems to tapping into current favorite-AI tech. In this piece, we zero in on digital experiences like interactions online or mobile apps for instance, being offered by movie theatres and whether consumers are happier with it this year than they were in 2022.
A recent YouGov survey asked consumers across 17 international markets about the sectors they think provide good digital experiences. Banks top the list (43%) , with streaming companies (32%), cell or mobile phone network providers (29%) and grocery retailers (23%) following. Data shows that satisfaction levels with the experience offered by all four sectors have slightly dipped since 2022.
Polling data shows that car brands (10%), sports events (14%) and cinemas (19%) are among sectors consumers are least likely to say offer good digital experiences.
When it comes to cinemas in particular, the figure this year (19%) across all our markets is four percentage points down from the figure (23%) in 2022.
By country, what consumers think of the digital experience offered by cinemas
Consumers in India (39%) are most likely across all the markets we survey to believe cinemas offer a good digital experience this year, followed by those in Mexico (32%) and UAE (29%).
As for markets that feature right at the bottom of our list, they are Germany (11%), Sweden (12%) and US (16%).
In 2022, less than two in ten (19%) consumers in Great Britain were happy with the digital experience offered by cinemas. In 2023, the figure has dropped to 15%.
Asian consumers are more likely than their European counterparts to say cinemas provide a good digital experience.
Asia offers a mixed bag. Satisfaction levels with cinemas’ digital experience in Singapore has remained the same since 2022. Nonetheless, consumers in Singapore are the least happy (20%) with the digital experience cinemas offer them.
Further, consumers in Indonesia and Hong Kong are less happy with their experience in 2023 than they were last year, while consumers in India are marginally happier.
As for Europe, none of the markets we survey in this region reported an increase in satisfaction levels since 2022. Spain leads, with the largest proportion (19%) of consumers in Europe to say they are happy with the digital experience provided by cinemas - down from a quarter (25%) in 2022.
Figures in our Nordic markets have dropped considerably since 2022. In Denmark, less than two in ten (17%) consumers are happy with the digital experience provided by cinemas, down from 21% in 2022, as for Sweden, the figure reported this year (12%) marks a seven-percentage point slip from the 19% reported in 2022.
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 513/512 and 2008/2000 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in August 2022/2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.
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