Views: 0 Author: Crystal Publish Time: 2025-08-05 Origin: Site
In the operational system of indoor amusement parks, ticket pricing is a core link that concerns the overall situation, and its rationality directly affects the park's profitability, customer flow stability, and market competitiveness. For investors, a scientific pricing strategy is not only the key to ensuring investment returns but also an important means to build differentiated advantages in a highly homogeneous market and achieve long-term operations. When determining ticket prices, multiple dimensions need to be considered: the park's hardware investment (such as equipment procurement, venue decoration, and safety system construction) and operating costs (labor, utilities, maintenance, marketing, etc.). It also needs to align with the regional consumption capacity and the price sensitivity of the target customer groups (for example, parent-child families pay more attention to "cost-effectiveness", while young people are willing to pay a premium for the sense of experience). At the same time, it is essential to benchmark the pricing range of similar competitors in the surrounding area to avoid being put at a disadvantage in the market due to excessively high or low prices. Differentiated ticket design is an important means to activate customer flow. Through hierarchical pricing and scenario-based ticketing design, it can not only accurately reach customer groups with different needs but also optimize the overall revenue structure while increasing customer flow, achieving a two-way balance between "customer flow growth" and "profit improvement".
When investors set ticket prices, return on investment (ROI) is an indispensable core measurement indicator, as it directly determines the project's profitability and payback period. Calculating ROI requires taking the total investment as the benchmark and dynamically deriving it in combination with the expected annual income. The total investment includes not only upfront fixed costs such as venue rental, equipment procurement (e.g., amusement facilities, safety systems), and decoration but also implicit investments like initial marketing promotion and staff training. Meanwhile, the expected annual income needs to be broken down into multiple sources such as ticket revenue, derivative consumption, and venue cooperation. For example, if the total investment of an indoor playground is 5 million RMB (including 2 million RMB for equipment, 1.5 million RMB for decoration, 1 million RMB for operation reserves, and 500,000 RMB for marketing expenses), with an expected first-year ticket income of 3 million RMB and derivative consumption of 1 million RMB, the total annual income will be 4 million RMB, resulting in an ROI of 80%. This figure is not a static standard but needs to be dynamically adjusted in line with the industry's average payback period (usually 2-3 years for indoor playground). If the initial ROI is lower than expected, returns can be enhanced by optimizing ticket pricing (e.g., increasing customer unit price) or expanding secondary consumption (e.g., adding paid experience projects) to ensure that investment returns remain manageable.
In addition to ROI, cost-benefit analysis is a more refined pricing tool that requires striking a balance between "cost control" and "market acceptance."
It is necessary to break down fixed costs (rent, equipment depreciation, management staff salaries) and variable costs (daily operation and maintenance, supplies replenishment, temporary labor). For example, a 1,000 SQM park has monthly fixed costs of approximately 150,000 RMB, while variable costs fluctuate with customer flow (e.g., when the average daily customer flow is 500, variable costs are about 50,000 RMB per month). Based on this, the "break-even customer flow" can be calculated—the minimum number of customers required for ticket revenue to cover the total monthly costs, which in turn helps derive the base ticket price.
It needs to link with market research data, including regional consumption capacity (e.g., annual amusement spending per family is about 8,000 RMB in first-tier cities and 3,000 RMB in third- and fourth-tier cities), the willingness of target customers to pay, and benchmark against competitors' pricing (e.g., when the average price of similar nearby parks is 100 RMB, advantages can be established through "same price with better quality" or "premium differentiation"). Through the cost-benefit model, investors can avoid extreme situations such as "blind low pricing to attract customers leading to losses" or "excessively high pricing causing customer loss," achieving a balance between short-term cash flow and long-term profitability.
Ticket pricing is by no means a short-term act; it needs to be deeply bound to the park's long-term development strategy, balancing the dual goals of "short-term customer acquisition" and "long-term customer retention."
The "penetration pricing" strategy can be adopted, using prices slightly lower than the market average (e.g., pricing at 120 RMB when competitors charge 150 RMB) or "experience packages" (such as "29.9 RMB limited-time experience ticket + subsequent consumption discounts") to quickly attract the first batch of customers. This helps accumulate user reputation and data (such as customer portraits and consumption preferences), providing a basis for subsequent pricing adjustments. At the same time, the high customer flow during the low-price period can verify operational details such as equipment carrying capacity and service processes, laying the foundation for long-term operations.
Once the park has formed a stable customer base and brand recognition, it can gradually shift to "value-based pricing." By upgrading experiences (such as introducing themed IP and adding interactive projects), the price premium space can be increased. Meanwhile, a "membership system" (such as exclusive benefits for annual card users) can be launched to lock in long-term consumption and reduce price sensitivity. In addition, room for "flexible pricing" should be reserved. For example, prices can be moderately increased (within 20%) during peak seasons such as holidays and summer/winter vacations, and "weekday special tickets" can be offered in off-seasons to balance customer flow and avoid resource idleness. In the long run, the pricing strategy should iterate in sync with the park's "life cycle"—from "trading price for quantity" to establish market presence, to "pricing based on quality" to consolidate competitiveness, and ultimately achieve multi-dimensional growth in "customer flow scale, customer unit price, and repurchase rate," supporting the sustainable operation of the park.
Differentiated pricing is a core means for indoor amusement parks to solve the problems of "large fluctuations in customer flow and unstable revenue". By subdividing scenarios, customer groups and consumption demands, it achieves the dual goals of "diversion during off-peak hours and precise efficiency improvement".
Using Price Leverage to Balance Peak and Off-peak Customer Flow
Dynamically adjusting prices based on the laws of customer flow can not only maximize revenue during peak hours but also activate idle resources during off-peak hours:
Premium during peak hours:
Weekends, legal holidays and summer/winter vacations are traditional peak periods for customer flow. "Holiday exclusive tickets" can be launched, with a 10%-20% increase on the basis of the basic ticket price (for example, 150 RMB on weekdays and 180 RMB on holidays). This can screen out customer groups with high willingness to pay through price and control the number of visitors to ensure the quality of experience.
Diversion during off-peak hours:
Launch "special discount tickets" on weekdays and evenings, such as "night tickets" (admission after 5 p.m. at 60%-70% of the weekday price) and "weekday tickets", together with combined discounts like "buy one get one half price for two people", to attract customers with flexible time (such as retirees and freelancers); For periods with active student groups like the "school opening season", launch exclusive discount tickets (such as 30% off for students) to accurately tap into the segmented market.
Designing Ticket Types by Demand Layers
Customizing ticket prices for customer groups of different ages and identities can not only cover a wider range of users but also enhance user stickiness through a "sense of privilege":
Age segmentation:
Break through the single "adult/child ticket" model and refine it into "free tickets for infants" (under 1.2 meters), "children's tickets" (1.2-1.5 meters), "adult tickets" and "senior tickets" (30% off for those over 60 years old). Also, design combined tickets - such as "one adult and one child parent-child ticket" (15% cheaper than buying tickets separately) and "two adults and one child family ticket" (including a coupon for one children's meal) to reduce the travel cost of family customer groups; For teenagers, launch "student group tickets" (30% off for groups of more than 10 people) and cooperate with schools and training institutions to expand batch customer flow.
Binding with membership system:
Set "member exclusive prices" (for example, 150 RMB for ordinary tickets and 120 RMB for member tickets), and match benefits such as "points redeeming tickets" and "free admission on birthdays" to encourage customers to pay to become members (such as an annual card of 999 RMB, including 12 admissions and an exclusive locker). Through "retaining customers", the repurchase rate is increased. Non-members implement the standard ticket price, forming a price difference to promote conversion.
Matching Consumption Habits to Improve Per-Square-Meter Efficiency
Combining urban consumption characteristics and venue content, "time-based tickets" are launched to make pricing more in line with users' actual stay needs:
Flexible hourly tickets:
In first-tier cities with a fast consumption rhythm, "2-hour experience tickets" (priced at 50% of the all-day ticket) are offered to meet the demand for "fragmented entertainment" (such as parents taking their children for a short visit, or young people relaxing during lunch breaks). In second- and third-tier cities, "4-hour unlimited play tickets" can be set to balance cost-effectiveness and venue utilization.
Time segment combination for efficiency:
For example, separate tickets are sold for the "morning session (9:00-13:00)" and "afternoon session (14:00-18:00)". This not only avoids equipment queuing caused by concentrated customer flow but also attracts customers willing to stay all day through the discount of "80% off for consecutive purchase of both sessions", increasing the consumption duration per customer.
Leveraging Scenario Premiums to Create Consumption Hotspots Through themed activities, "scarce experiences" are created, and special ticket prices are used to activate incremental customer flow:
Festival-exclusive tickets:
For occasions such as Halloween, Christmas, and the Spring Festival, "themed night tickets" are launched (e.g., Halloween "Thriller Night Ticket" including makeup props and limited-time projects, with a price 30% higher than usual). Combined with immersive decorations and interactive performances, the premium is matched with the upgraded experience.
Limited event tickets:
For special activities like "parent-child baking day" and "teenagers' e-sports competition", tickets are bundled with experience projects (e.g., "199 RMB = admission ticket + baking course + finished product to take away"). Through "one ticket for multiple benefits", the per-customer price is increased, while accurately attracting customer groups interested in specific themes.
The core of the differentiated ticket strategy lies in "matching the right price with the right customer group". Investors need to dynamically optimize the combination of ticket types based on the park's positioning (such as parent-child oriented or trendy oriented) and regional consumption characteristics — ensuring revenue through peak-hour premiums while activating idle resources with off-peak discounts; covering mass demand with basic tickets while tapping into segmented markets with special tickets. Only in this way can the long-term goal of "sustained customer flow growth and optimized profit structure" be achieved on the basis of cost control and ROI guarantee.
By now, you must be wondering why we have such extensive experience in indoor playground operations. If you are preparing to open a venue or already running one, you are more than welcome to send me a private message for a detailed discussion! POKIDDO is always committed to making every venue unique and radiant.
