As we all know, Spring Festival tickets are not that easy to get. It is not uncommon for tickets to be sold out within seconds of being released, and many users are also unable to buy home tickets due to slow Internet speeds and other restrictions. To solve the problem, a number of third-party ticket-accelerating platforms have emerged in the market, including plug-ins embedded in PC browsers and mobile apps.
“Reasonable” and “unreasonable” of ticket-snatching software: the market demand and software defects of ticket-snatching
Last year, 2.98 billion trips were made nationwide during the Spring Festival travel rush, and the number is expected to top 3 billion this year, according to data. With the help of train and other means of transportation, the huge number of people traveling year by year has spawned a huge ticket-buying market, which has also become a business opportunity targeted by third-party ticket-snatching software.
The charging strategies of these ticket-snatching software are mainly divided into two categories: one is the accelerated package with different prices, which users claim can improve the speed of ticket snatching to different degrees after purchasing, and the other is the recharge membership. From the point of view of these charging strategies, this is also a part of the profit model of ticket snatching software.
Not to mention the existence of these third-party ticket-snatching software is legal, only from the user’s difficulty to buy tickets to consider the pain point, the emergence of these ticket-snatching software has a certain degree of rationality.
First of all, in view of users’ difficulty in buying tickets, these third-party ticket-snatching software can help solve users’ needs, which is the rationality of the existence of ticket-snatching software.
Secondly, compared with 12306 and other official ticket-buying software, these third-party ticket-snatching software focus on the convenience of users in function Settings. For example, the display of ticket information is intuitive, and the time information of the ticket is clear at a glance. In addition, users can also learn the big data information such as the time it takes others to grab the ticket. From the perspective of these convenient information, ticket snatching software fills the blank of users’ demand for more ticket information to a certain extent and is more intuitive.
Then there’s the hidden irrationality of these ticket-snatching apps.
First of all, when users log in to these ticket-grabbing software, part of the software requires users to authorize the login of 12306 accounts on the software, but in fact, 12306 accounts contain user personal information, such as phone numbers, ID cards, and so on, once these information is leaked, the consequences will be unimaginable. For example, these third-party software is likely to have phishing websites, Trojan viruses, and so on. Once it invades the user’s computer or mobile phone, it is virtually a time bomb, posing a threat to the user’s personal information and property security.
According to 12306 officials, it has not authorized any third-party software to sell tickets, and losses caused by the use of such software are only borne by users. This is not groundless, given that these ticket-snatching apps may have great security risks, almost every year during the Spring Festival travel rush, the news reminds users to be cautious about using third-party ticket-snatching apps.
Second, there is a hierarchy of ticket grabs, but in fact the success rate of lower-tier modes is very low. The use of the low-level ordinary mode of snatching tickets means that there is no use of acceleration packs or recharge, and the practice has proved that this ordinary mode seems to be just a “decoration”, and the success rate of snatching tickets is not as expected by users. For example, in the general mode of snatching tickets of high-speed railway Management APP, handheld train ticket APP and other software, users did not grab tickets after 6 hours, which indirectly indicates that the success rate of snatching tickets without paying “cost” is quite small.
Finally, users may be “consumed” when they use these ticket-snatching software. For example, when using ticket-snatching software such as Tieyou APP and Zhihang APP, the acceleration package is automatically selected for users at the payment stage. In addition, there is a function similar to “minimum consumption” in the function setting of the acceleration package. The user reduces the amount of acceleration package to 0, and then automatically jumps to 5 yuan for the user when clicking next.
But the flaws and hidden security problems of these ticket-snatching apps don’t stop there. For example, in order to make profits, some ticket-snatching software explicitly stipulates that the cost of these accelerators is non-refundable even if the user does not grab the ticket. In addition, some users found that after using the ticket-snatching software, their mobile phones would receive spam messages and other harassing information for no reason, which also made users less satisfied with the ticket-snatching software.
Generally speaking, it is difficult for users to buy tickets on the pain point, the emergence of these ticket-snatching software has its rationality. However, in the function setting, because of the conflict between the user’s interest and the software’s interest, some practices of these software will make users feel bad. Therefore in the function of the setting, these grab tickets software still need to optimize a lot of places.
The annual “unreliable” reminder may be the result of a long-term accumulation of two pathological phenomena
As we know, users use these programs to improve the success rate of tickets. However, if you look carefully, it is easy to find that these ticket-snatching software will be mentioned every year by major news media. The content is nothing more than that the ticket-snatching software has security risks, and the ticket-snatching function is “unreliable”. As time goes by, the reputation of these ticket-snatching software seems to have entered a “vicious cycle” stage, which will be “pulled out” for criticism every year.
But on the other hand, if these ticket snatching software is so “unreliable”, why are there still users?
This has to grab tickets from the software to the user’s practicality, as well as the user “no way out” dilemma to come up to the analysis.
First look at the practicability of grab tickets software. Have to say, these grab tickets software or “two brushes”, even if the long-term is not optimistic, but the use of software principles and technology, some users can indeed use these software successfully grab tickets, and still in a relatively effortless way. Otherwise, if “nothing”, grab tickets software has long been eliminated by the market, which is also the main reason grab tickets software can “stand” for a long time.
Look at the user “nowhere to go” ticket dilemma. Draw lessons from the previous mentioned, users buying tickets is a big pain point. If users only rely on 12306, judging from the intensity of ticket buying on 12306’s official website and APP, many users will indeed find it difficult to get tickets. Therefore, even though some users know that the success rate of snatch tickets software is not high, but for the sake of peace of mind, they hold the mentality of “it doesn’t hurt to use it” and place hope on snatch tickets software.
From this point of view, under the restrictions of multiple conditions, ticket snatching software is stigmatised as “unreliable” on the one hand, and on the other hand is burdened with the mission to solve the needs of users to buy tickets. Under the attack of the two factors, a “pathological” phenomenon of ticket snatching software market is formed.
From the current situation of these ticket snatching software being criticized every year, it may also trigger another kind of thinking, why these ticket snatching software after a long time of accumulation, and did not strengthen their own ticket snatching function, but every year bear the criticism, and some “stagnant”?
This has something to do with the quantification of train tickets. We know that the number of votes released by 12306 is limited and will be gone when they are sold out. Therefore, with the help of grab tickets software, not to grab additional tickets to increase, but from the fierce “pick up the leak” link to “pick up the leak”.
Therefore, from this point of view, the success rate of snatching tickets software is difficult to estimate. Even though some ticket snatching software clearly states that the success rate can be increased to 60 or 70 percent after paying the fee, but this does not rule out “cheating” users. Considering that there are only so many tickets, who can guarantee how many tickets will be sold and how many tickets will be returned, it is difficult to estimate the chance of getting a ticket, so the success rate of pre-informing users may not exist.
Besides, there are many kinds of ticket-snatching apps on the market, and other users of the same trip may also be using ticket-snatching apps. With such fierce competition, the chances of ticket snatching are even lower. This means that even if a user buys the highest level of ticket snatching package, there is no guarantee that the ticket will be available.
From this point of view, this can be regarded as another “pathological” phenomenon of ticket snatching software. The success rate of ticket snatching does not directly represent the possibility of buying tickets. In the long run, users will only think that snatching tickets software “unreliable”, snatching tickets software industry will be more difficult to go.
Generally speaking, the reason why snatching tickets software can stand still in year after year of “verbal criticism” is not unrelated to the former “pathological” phenomenon; However, in the latter “pathological” phenomenon, in the long run, it is likely to lead to the “vicious circle”, which is “mentioned every year, but never changed”.
The future of ticket-snatching software: Artificial intelligence and big data could boost the success rate
At this point, everything has to go back to basics. Since it is difficult for users to buy tickets, ticket snatching software can help them, and the market space is huge. So, how should snatch tickets software improve their own shortcomings, and really provide practical snatch tickets for users?
First of all, the support of big data is indispensable. Although many ticket-snatching software have provided users with a lot of big data information, this information has not been much help in improving the ticket-snatching function. In order to achieve a higher success rate of snatching tickets, we might as well develop more big data functions, provide users with more information services, and obtain additional profit methods while enriching ticket data information.
Second, the current artificial intelligence technology can also help improve the success rate of tickets. On the basis of the more mature artificial intelligence technology, artificial intelligence products have penetrated into every field of people’s life. If artificial intelligence technology can be used to realize the intelligent analysis of snatching tickets, the success rate of snatching tickets may be higher.
In general, whether it is during the Spring Festival travel rush or the statutory holidays, it seems that there are more and more people with travel needs, who are more or less anxious about not being able to buy tickets. Therefore, it is worth considering how these ticket-snatching software can specifically solve the anxiety of ticket buyers, and achieve the purpose of profit while truly snatching tickets for users.
However, these ticket-snatching software also have their own anxiety, namely with this kind of “edge ball” general existence, the future days can continue? Perhaps in the future, these ticket-grabbing apps will be removed from the market under regulatory pressure, or they will get back on track after legalization. Time will tell.
Liu Kuang, meditation on the Internet, wechat official account: Liukuang110