A Binghamton University marketing professor has analyzed the consumer behavior of recent Taylor Swift concert ticket sales.

On Nov. 15, Ticketmaster — a ticket sales and distribution company — hosted a presale for Swift’s 2023 world tour, the Eras Tour, that had concertgoers either paying thousands of dollars for tickets or not getting a ticket at all. After a five-year concert hiatus, Swift had partnered with Ticketmaster, who held a presale in which consumers could register as verified fans in order to receive a presale code prior to the general ticket sale. After over 3.5 million people signed up for presale tickets, Ticketmaster eventually canceled the general sale due to a lack of tickets, spiking the prices of remaining tickets by thousands of dollars.

Subimal Chatterjee, area chair of analytics and SUNY distinguished professor in the School of Management (SOM), researched concertgoers’ willingness to spend such large amounts of money to attend the concert, and how Ticketmaster caused a fan uproar.

According to the Ticketmaster website, Swift fans waited in a virtual waiting room to buy tickets after being registered as verified fans. They were placed in an online queue with a progress bar to show how far ahead they were in the line to buy tickets.

Chatterjee called the presale codes a marketing ploy that was used to make fans feel special, explaining that it ultimately failed due to high expectations.

“This is the broader concept of gamification,” Chatterjee said. “They make the experience exciting. They make the experience as if it’s a game that you are playing. Remember when you are playing a game, you expect to win. Nobody gets into a game and says, ‘It’s okay if I lose.’ Nobody gets into the waiting room as a verified fan and says, ‘It’s okay if I don’t get a ticket’ — the moment you verify yourself as a [Swift] fan, you formed an expectation.”

According to Chatterjee, the anticipation of the concert — as well as Swift being an established artist — may have caused many fans to lose sight of the reality of whether they can afford ticket prices. He explained that the greater the level of anticipation, the higher fans’ expectations will be, which meant fans were more likely to be disappointed.

Chatterjee critiqued Ticketmaster’s use of the dynamic pricing model, which analyzes demand and changes prices simultaneously.

“We value wealth creation,” Chatterjee said. “What [Ticketmaster] is trying to find out is what is the maximum willingness to pay for fans like you. They are creating wealth for their companies — we as Americans accept that but the second thing we value as much as wealth creation is fairness.”

Chatterjee considered where he would fault Ticketmaster based on the concept of wealth creation and fairness, as automated “bots” bought out tickets. Chatterjee concluded that he would fault Ticketmaster for failing to properly consider how the concept of fairness hinders their drive to create wealth.

Elizabeth Dee, a sophomore majoring in business administration, said she felt relieved to have been able to buy tickets to the tour.

“Buying tickets was a crazy process from start to finish, and took over five hours,” Dee said. “I had thousands of people in front of me, lots of glitches from the website and the prices were driven up due to demand. Ultimately, I got two tickets that I am excited about, but it never should have been such a challenging process.”

Claire Juergens, a sophomore majoring in biology, expressed her own feelings after not being able to get a ticket to the tour.

“After I registered for the presale code, I waited in the Ticketmaster queue for a couple of hours,” Juergens said. “I didn’t end up getting tickets, which honestly caused me to slightly dislike Taylor Swift after the whole experience.”

Chatterjee emphasized that he does not blame Ticketmaster for their wealth creation because they can do a lot of good with their money, but that fairness, as a respected American value, limits their wealth creation.

Chatterjee pointed out that while this presale outcome is not unique to this generation, technology has become a pivotal force in consumer behavior.

“The madness has always been there,” Chatterjee said. “Now with machines in the picture trying to find out in the minutest details your willingness to pay in the dynamic pricing model, where prices can change from second to second. Remember in a physical booth, prices can’t change.”