Apple Tests 'Order Ahead' Festival Feature for Apple Pay

Apple is adding a small but significant Apple Pay feature that will be of interest to concert attendees: the ability to pre-purchase drinks.

According to TechCrunch, Apple tested an "order ahead with Apple Pay" feature at a recent BottleRock music festival near San Francisco.

Using the festival app, attendees were able to select a nearby concession stand, choose drinks, initiate a purchase through Apple Pay within the app, and then pick up the drinks at a dedicated beverage window.

Order ahead with Apple Pay allowed concert attendees to make purchases without having to stand in a long line or fumble with cash or other payment options at the concession stand.

TechCrunch believes other music festivals will want to adopt the streamlined order ahead with Apple Pay feature given its ease of use.

Apple has previously used the BottleRock Festival to test Apple Pay features, and last year the festival used Apple Pay equipped Square registers, which led to thirty percent of all transactions at the festival being made with Apple Pay.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Top Rated Comments

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Boatboy24

12 weeks ago

Nice! I'm still surprised at the number of people who don't even seem to know these capabilities exist. On an almost weekly basis, someone at a register utters a 'That's so cool!' when I pay with my watch.

Rating: 6 Votes

thisisnotmyname

12 weeks ago

how is this different from any other prepay ordering system that accepts Apple Pay? i.e. GrubHub for pickup or any number of takeout places that allow you to order via their app and pay with Apple Pay?

Rating: 4 Votes

mrgraff

12 weeks ago

I use my phone at one particular food truck on a regular basis, and the same cashier seems to be amazed each time.

Rating: 3 Votes

jimthing

12 weeks ago

Sellers love this stuff, as stats have proven that buyers spend more when buying digitally (cards was one thing, digital wallets is even less 'friction'; using the jargon) compared to using cash.

Something about handing over bank notes that feels subconsciously "oh, this is my hard earned money I'm spending, perhaps I'll skip this item after all".

Rating: 1 Votes