Feasibility Study of Applying Spatial Crowd Smoothing Without Economic Incentives on Ticket Reservation System that Applies Nudges

In this study, we devise several seat selection screens for a movie theater ticket reservation system that applies nudges to achieve spatial crowd smoothing without relying on economic incentives. We design three types of nudges that achieve the following: (i) render seats in less-crowded areas noticeable; (ii) present social norms; and (iii) suggest seats in less-crowded areas to people who have selected seats in crowded areas. Results of verification experiment show that (ii) the presentation of social norms is generally effective in avoiding congestion regardless of the ticket sales and (ii) the text of the presented social norms is more effective in avoiding congestion when it contains motivational sentences than when it is verbally expressed. Furthermore, the results indicate that (i) rendering seats in less-crowded areas more conspicuous and (iii) suggesting seats in less-crowded areas to those who select seats in more crowded areas may be effective in avoiding congestion, depending on the ticket sales. Consequently, the feasibility of spatial crowd smoothing without relying on economic incentives for the seat selection screen of a ticket reservation system that applies nudges is demonstrated.