Indians can't wait to step out for entertainment, provided its contactless

Even as India slowly warms up to getting outdoors, Unlock 4.0 brings with it the curtain raiser on safe and carefully planned out-of-home entertainment, giving a much-needed respite to millions of entertainment lovers in the country.

To sense the entertainment pulse of the country, BookMyShow, India’s leading entertainment destination, set out to find what consumers want as entertainment finally resumes in the country after several months of lockdown. And here’s the good news – Indians can’t wait to step out and get back to their favourite on-ground, live entertainment experiences as soon as they can!

BookMyShow’s final edition of the Covid consumer survey report 2.0 titled ‘Back To Out-of-Home Entertainment – Mission Live Entertainment’ focuses exclusively on out-of-home live entertainment. The report is the outcome of a survey conducted by India’s go-to entertainment platform, of over 2000 respondents who are active transactors for live entertainment on BookMyShow. The survey conducted in mid-September 2020, just before Unlock 4.0 came into force, spans respondents above the age of 18 years from across 120 cities and towns in India.

Some of the key findings from the report show that 51% of Indian entertainment lovers are eager to get out for live events, with 80% of these consumers willing to step out within 15-60 days of Unlock 4.0 while the rest would prefer to step out after 60 days. While for movies, 54% of Indians want to catch their favourite films in cinemas within 15-90 days of opening up as gleaned from the first edition of the survey in June.

East India misses its live events the most, with 52% of respondents from the region eager to catch their favourite concert or show post Unlock 4.0.

For live entertainment experiences the outdoor has been the venue of choice with 77% of Indians would prefer an outdoor arena or open air venue for events while events with seated possibilities, drive-in theatres/concerts and events with pre-defined markers to stand are the top 3 preferred arrangements for consumers to attend their favourite events.

Staff adequately tested and certified to be Covid-negative, seat sanitisation, disinfectant tunnels are among the top safety measures that consumers expect at their live entertainment experience on-ground even as 53% of respondents are willing to pay more for adequate safety and hygiene measures at live events.

A contactless entertainment experience is what Indians want all the way! 84% of consumers surveyed prefer purchasing their tickets online and 91% prefer the m-ticket & e-ticket option for a complete contactless entertainment experience.

The survey reflects the pulse of India’s entertainment wish list with 80% of the responses coming in from consumers across Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, NCR, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Kochi. 42% of consumers who responded were aged between 25-34 years.