Facebook Pilots Event Ticket Service

Moving ahead with its mission to be everything social, social networking behemoth Facebook is piloting a program, with payments powered by Braintree, in which Facebook users can purchase tickets to events directly from the social network’s website or app.

According to media reports, the program is currently being tested on Facebook’s computer-based website as well as its iPhone and Android based apps, but not on the mobile version of the site. Facebook is teaming up with Eventbrite and Ticketmaster to offer the service.

While Facebook users could already purchase tickets, up until now the actual transaction happened on a third-party service. With the new service, users will either be able to start the process to purchase the tickets or complete the transaction on Facebook. Both partnerships differ in their integration. In the case of Eventbrite, for example, all the information about the customer’s payment details, name, email, address etc., are provided by Facebook, so purchasing the tickets will only require two clicks. With Ticketmaster, users will be redirected to its website to complete the transaction.

“Millions of people use Facebook to discover and learn more about local events,” a Facebook spokesperson told the media. “In our research, we’ve found that some of the top reasons why people don’t go to an event are because they found out about it too late or they didn’t know who else was going. In addition to giving people meaningful social context around events they might consider attending, this pilot will allow people to make ticket purchasing on Facebook easier and faster, especially on mobile devices.”

The pilot program is only available in the U.S. and is seen as a win for Facebook. Not only could it result in users staying active on the social network for longer, but it also gives Facebook access to a lot of new potential customers — not to mention a new treasure trove of information about users’ habits.