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According to a recent Cvent/Edelman survey, three out of four people download event apps when they are available — and mobile event apps are the No. 1 way attendees say they want to consume and share content. While the survey found that event apps are not widely available — only one-fourth of respondents said that there was a mobile app at the last event they attended — those who download them find them “extremely valuable” and the apps also serve as a way to keep the conversation going post-event.
Millennials are helping to drive the growth of event tech, like apps, but that doesn’t mean they would rather hide behind a screen than attend a conference in person, the study also found. Millennials are the fastest-growing segment of event attendees, according to the 2018 Cvent/Edelman Intelligence survey titled “Inside the Mind of Event Attendees,” and they are expected to attend more events this year than members of older generations. This year, according to the survey, 43 percent more millennials will attend events than did in 2018, compared to 33 percent for Gen X and 20 percent for baby boomers.
However, millennials show higher stress levels when it comes to the social side of attending events, according to the report, which surveyed 3,000 people — 1,000 each from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. While half of millennials noted that social events, such as happy hours, are part of the draw of attending conferences, they also get more anxious about networking and breaking out of their comfort zone to talk to new people.
Technology can help combat stress, according to the report, with apps in particular helping to make it easier to navigate an event and provide information that attendees need.
Apps act as a one-stop-shop for everything from check-in (reducing the time spent in a queue) to maps, scheduling, and attendee messaging. What the survey found was that “mobile event apps put your attendees’ minds at ease, enabling them to plan their days, navigate the venue, and make valuable connections.”
Last year, the study found, 56 percent of British attendees and 62 percent of German attendees noted that apps improved their event experience.