Secret Shops overview & set up

Introduction

When you create a Secret Shop, a copy of the original event is generated, allowing you to manage alternative settings separately from the public online shop such as different ticket prices, allocations, seating options, access rights, and sales periods.

You can create an unlimited number of Secret Shops, each with its own settings.

Access to secret shops can be restricted to specific customer groups, secured with a promo code, or activated exclusively for internal use or the POS.

• Alternative ticket prices or fees at the POS
• Internal access to restricted ticket types and seats
• Discounted ticket prices for your VIP customers
• Early bird access to your ticket shop
• Sponsor allocation management
• Create Promo Code for Unlocking Secret Shops
• Complimentary Ticket issuance

Summary

This article provides steps to create a Secret Shop and an overview of its key settings.

Help Guide

1. Click Events (via the account menu), then open the specific event
2. Click Secret Shops (via the event menu). Any existing Secret Shops for this event will be displayed here. Click Add Secret Shop to create a new one,
3. By default, a New Secret Shop will appear in the list, click the 3 dot menu, click Edit to open the Secret Shop Settings
4. All available settings can be accessed and configured from the top menu
5. As a minimum, you are required to set the Sales Start and End date/time and Max Ticket Volume
6. Click Save

Settings

Access

A secret shop is not indexed, making it inaccessible to ticket buyers through regular searches.

By default, a URL is generated to access the Secret Shop, if you share this URL and no further restrictions are applied, anyone with the URL can access the secret shop.

Additional access restrictions can also be applied. The following access restrictions and options are available:

• Access via URL (default)
  • To obtain the URL for your secret shop, open the Secret Shop Settings (ref above steps)
  • Click More Actions (top right corner), then View in Browser
  • A new page will open, displaying the correct URL, which you can copy

Contact your account manager to get assistance for futher restrictions including;

• Access via promo code or coupon
• Access only with authentication
• Access via tags with automatic redirection

Ticket Types & Prices

When creating a secret shop, it inherits the ticket type settings that were active in the regular event at the time the secret shop was created.

Your options are:

Option 1: No Ticket Changes, offer the same ticket types with the same conditions as in the regular shop.

Option 2: Activate new ticket types: Creating new ticket types with different conditions or prices is the best way to offer alternative options through a Secret Shop.

Configuration is first set up in the main event—ensure tickets are toggled off (deactivated) there, then enable them in the Secret Shop.

• In addition to changes in price and volume, you can also make custom settings for the ticket types, such as unique ticket designs or specific cart automations.
• For statistics and reports, ticket types are listed separately, making them clearer and more organised.

1. Open the Main Event, click Ticket Categories (via the the event menu)
2. Add the new ticket types /prices as needed
3. Ensure tickets are toggled OFF (deactivated) in the main shop
4. Open the Secret Shop, click Ticket Categories tab
5. Click Modify Configuration and Activate the required ticket types
6. Click Save

Option 3 - Overwrite exsisting ticket types (not recomended): You can simply override the existing ticket types in the secret shop. The original ticket type ID remains unchanged, while only the price and volume are adjusted.

• No need for new ticket types, which significantly reduces initial set up
• As the same ticket type ID is used and only data is overwritten, analyses and reports may become less clear.
• Other settings such as cart automations or ticket templates are also tied to the ticket type. If these differ, they cannot be covered with the same ticket type

Fees

In secret shops, you can adjust the fees so that they differ from those in the regular shop. This is particularly useful if you want to assign alternative fees to secret shops, such as for POS sales or internal bookings. This step is optional and only needed if you want different customer charges; otherwise, it can be skipped.

1. Go to the Charges Tab, within the Secret Shop Settings
2. Enter the desired fees to override the settings at the higher event or account level.
3. Click Save

Data Fields

You can customise the data field queries in your secret shop to use different queries compared to the normal shop.

1. Go to the Data Fields Tab, within the Secret Shop Settings
2. Activate the data fields you want to use
3. Click Save