E-Ticket Handoff for Buyer’s Trust
Designing an Intuitive Ticket Upload Process to Enhance Buyer Confidence and Streamline Seller Experience
Overview
Theatr App a secondary theater and event ticket marketplace (MAU 80K+) that has a core consumer value that it only allows selling tickets at or below purchased price, this project aims at improving buyer trust and ticket transfer transparency.
The current platform let buyer and seller to handoff tickets off app (by texting or emailing the ticket images) which faces significant challenges with user trust, as many buyers hesitate about the legitimacy of the sellers. This often results in potential buyers abandoning their orders. In response, we decided to introduce a new e-ticket handoff feature, which enables sellers to upload scannable QR code tickets at the time of listing. Buyers can then receive the ticket image immediately after purchase and use it for entry.
The feature was well-received post-launch and is particularly valuable for the platform’s business expansion strategy. With established agreements to onboard professional brokers, this functionality enables them to bulk list tickets more efficiently, directly supporting the platform’s growth.
Team
Product Designer
Role
Product Designer, UI Designer
Skills
Led Feature Definition & Prioritization
Problem Identification & Business Alignment
Defined Ticket Upload Process
Timeline
2025 Q1
Tools
Figma
Project Background
As an active secondary ticketing platform in the New York market, Theatr attracts significant daily traffic. As the product designer for this project, monitor forum discussions, social media conversations, and real user feedback, while maintaining regular communication with the customer support team. By collecting and analyzing these insights, I identified the following key issues:
legitimacy
Buyer Trust - Buyers often have concerns about the handoff process after placing an order
“
I have been a bit nervous to pull the trigger on the offerings. It seems like they have different hand off options which makes me wary. Is it legit or can you get scammed?
— Reddit User
”
“
... it's not that I don't trust the sellers, but I have to admit it makes me a little nervous to not have the ticket right away ...
— Reddit User
”
lack of closure on the app
People are Handing-off Images - roughly 80% of orders are completed through the seller sending ticket images to the buyer via email or text
extra work for customer support
unnecessary customer service cost - The current off-app handoff methods, where the entire process is controlled by the buyer and seller, sometimes lead to confusion and post-sale disputes. These disputes often require time-consuming back-and-forth emails from our customer service team to investigate in order to resolve the issues. These incidences could be avoided upfront.
Purchase
Handoff
Dispute
Pre-sales
In-sales
Post-sales
Design Objectives
All of these issues stemmed from a single cause: the app’s existing handoff process, which lacks a critical step in the user flow. Therefore, this project aimed to close the loop within the app by implementing an instant e-ticket transfer feature, reducing barriers, enhancing user trust, and improving overall transaction efficiency.
The proposed feature enables sellers to upload scannable QR code ticket images/ PDFs directly within the app when listing tickets for sale. Once a buyer completes the purchase, the ticket is delivered instantly.
This feature was designed to improve user trust, increase transaction efficiency, and support the platform’s business growth, especially with the onboarding of professional ticket brokers for bulk ticket listings.
1
Increase Conversion Rates
By replacing manual email/text handoff with instant, in-app ticket transfers, we expected to see a smoother, faster transaction process that would reduce barriers to purchase.
2
Instant E-ticket replaces part of the email/text handoff method
(we don't expect full replacement, as some primary ticket platforms only send QR codes 1-3 days before the event) The goal is to convert partial post sale activities into the app.
3
Lower Order Cancellations
The instant ticket transfer process would address buyer concerns in real-time, reducing cancellations due to delays seller contact or trust issues.
Goal
instant e-ticket transfer
Seller upload ticket image when creating a listing
Buyer receives the ticket image once purchased the ticket
NEW
FEATURE
Expected Impact
Design Process
Throughout the design process, I carefully considered the unique characteristics of the secondary ticketing market and ensured that every design decision aligned with our business objectives. This approach enabled me to uncover new challenges and develop effective solutions.
Business Value & Design Challenges
Higher Conversion with Split Ticket Sales
Ticket Splitting has been proven to increase conversion rates and shorten transaction time. This aligns with our platform's focus on smaller transactions (1-2 tickets) and matches user behavior.
Sell Separately has significantly high conversion on Theatr
unmatched Seat number and image could cause trouble
Because the e-ticket QR codes are not dynamic, once tickets are sold (especially when split sales are supported), any post-sale issue cannot be resolved through returns.
Currently, seat numbers are entered freely by sellers without a standardized format. Combined with the new automatic ticket delivery (Instant Transfer) feature, mismatched or ambiguous seat entries could lead to serious after-sale problems.
Currently, seat numbers are entered freely by sellers
Variations of Sellers’ Input
Key Features Designed
Standardized Seat Input
To minimize any additional burden on users, the interaction is designed to remain consistent with the current keyboard input experience
Input seat number
Manual Seat Location Assignment
Sellers are required to manually assign seat locations to ticket images to ensure accuracy and prevent discrepancies
Assign Seat Location
Design of Instant E-Ticket Icon
A simple and clear Instant E-Ticket icon to effectively communicating the benefits across the entire buy flow. This feature will help build buyer trust by repeatedly displaying a visual icon.
Instant Transfer Icon
User Testing & Iteration
To refine the design, I conducted three rounds of user testing with Figma prototypes, gathering real-time feedback to ensure seamless integration with the platform. The testing focused on different interaction flows and key functionalities, allowing me to validate each decision and continuously improve the user experience.
Due to non-disclosure agreements, I am unable to share screenshots, but my research included, but was not limited to, the following:
Feature 1
Seat Number Input & Assignment Flow
Option1
Seller uploads ticket image first, then assigns seat number below the image.
Option2
Seat numbers input first, followed by image upload.
Decision
Chose Option 1 to ensure compatibility with other handoff methods and simplify the initial feature rollout. The approach also allowed for validation of the feature’s value before integrating it into the main flow.
Feature 2
Unique Feature Design (Seat Assignment)
Tooltips
This feature was not present in similar products, so we had to ensure the experience was intuitive.
Initially used tooltips to guide users through the process.
Tutorial Popup
Later added an intro popup with visual instructions
Prevented users from skipping this step by locking image preview mode until seat numbers were assigned, reducing errors.
Feature 3
Handling Different Event Genres & Seat Formats
Research on Existing Users
Conducted a platform research on how users manually entered seat numbers for different event genres.
Research on First Hand Ticketing Platforms
How the first hand platforms display seat locations across difference event genres.
Flexible Seat Number Input + Example Messages
To guide users in entering seat numbers, ensuring compatibility across multiple event types.
Final Product - Sell Flow
Input Seat Location
Upload Tickets
Final Product - Buy Flow
Buy an Instant E-ticket
Data Feedback
+ 10.7%
higher sell-through rate compared to the second highest method
+ 19.9%
higher sell-through rate compared to the average
Instant E-Ticket has the highest sell-through rate, significantly outperforming all other handoff methods.
30%
Adoption for Individual Sellers
Instant E-Ticket replaces about 1/3 of email/text handoff methods, while other handoff methods remain consistent.
100%
Adoption for Brokers
All broker tickets are being shifted to Instant E-Ticket to increase buyer trust and reduce potential fraudulent activities.
Full launch | Compare before and after
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