QR code-enabled tips to street performers at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21579135 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Meg Elkins (0000-0001-9181-2052, RMIT University), Tim R L Fry (0000-0002-3763-5152, Nottingham Trent University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 105-128 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Cultural Economics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0885-2545 • E-ISSN: 1573-6997 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10824-025-09559-9 |
| OpenAlex | W4414584229 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 39 |
“Hat lines” such as “take one or two pounds out of the wallet...and give me the rest” have been passed down and perfected by generation after generation of street performers. The recent rise of mobile payments has forced them to radically change tack, displaying signage with quick response (QR) codes that lead to cashless tips. We analysed data from the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival to investigate factors that influence the audience use of QR code signs displayed by performers and subsequent tipping activity. We find that what type of act is performing, when and where, and the sign(s) on display are associated with audience activity through QR code scans. Once a code is scanned, we find what type of act is performing, when and where, the sign(s) displayed, and the configuration of the webpage they are directed to are associated with tip activity. Our results provide insights into digital tipping and may help the current generation of street performers, beyond the Edinburgh Fringe, to understand how to incorporate digital payments into their shows and provide insights in other contexts where voluntary donations are sought through scans or tap-to-tip payments terminals
Camera phone · Cash · Digital signage · Payment · Signage · The arts · Tourism · Consumer Retail Behavior Studies · Psychology of Social Influence · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
The Effect of Forced Choice on Choice
Do Defaults Save Lives?
Overcoming the Inevitable Anchoring Effect
Testing for Altruism and Social Pressure in Charitable Giving
Specification and testing of some modified count data models
Zero-Inflated Poisson Regression, with an Application to Defects in Manufacturing
Preferences and beliefs in ingroup favoritism
Should Governments Invest More in Nudging?
Context-Dependent Preferences
Beyond nudges
Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error
Effects of environmental experience on audience experience of street performance (busking)
Street performers and donations in an online environment in the wake of Covid-19
Defaults and Donations
If you play some good music, people immediately understand it’
When and why defaults influence decisions
Giving with Impure Altruism
Living Space’ at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Economics of Tipping
Choice Based on Reasons
The Skeptical Shopper
The Role of Explanations and Need for Uniqueness in Consumer Decision Making
Critics and Publics
| Highly cited | No |
|---|