Vietnamese ecommerce firm Tiki acquires ticketing platform TicketBox

Vietnam’s Tiki has acquired online ticketing site TicketBox in a bid to become an all-in-one ecommerce platform. The deal marks Tiki’s first ever acquisition.

Son Tran Ngoc Thai, founder of Tiki / Photo credit: Tiki

TicketBox offers event organizers with a cost-efficient ticket delivery solution, event communications, and optimal online payment methods, while allowing customers to find and book tickets online conveniently.

It is estimated that the Vietnamese event ticketing market will see a 50% year-on-year growth to reach US$40 million in 2019, while the cinema ticketing segment is expected to garner US$160 million at the end of this year, according to a statement.

The high demand from Vietnamese customers for entertainment content, along with TicketBox’s existing online platform, made the acquisition an essential strategy to complete Tiki’s ecommerce ecosystem.

“Investing in TicketBox is aligning with our ‘For Customers’ core value,” said Tran Ngoc Thai Son, founder cum chairman of Tiki Corporation. “Along with the financial investment, Tiki also utilizes our existing assets, such as technology, manpower, process, etc., so as for TicketBox to not only better serve Vietnamese audience but also promote the national entertainment industry.”

The acquisition also furthers Tiki’s venture into entertainment, as it recently made an investment to support 100 music videos in 2019.

“TicketBox is investing in big data and machine learning in order for event organizers and producers to have a deeper understanding of their audience’s interests, then create more proper content with the most efficient cost,” Nguyen Hoang Viet, chief technology officer of TicketBox, said.

A social feature that will enhance the customer experience is in the pipeline. Customers will also be able to purchase tickets on TicketBox from their Tiki accounts.

TicketBox also aims to have over 5,000 events on board by January 2020, expecting the number to increase 2x or 3x per year.