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We recently did a customer mapping exercise with our lottery
players. Some had purchased on our digital channel and others
had purchased at retail. The results were the opposite of what
we expected. In the digital channel, we thought that once the
registration process was completed, the purchase piece would
be simple. And at retail we expected our customers to think
that the purchase process is cumbersome because you have se-
lection slips and all the rest of it. What our customers told us is
they had much greater satisfaction with the retail purchase than
the digital purchase. We got the same surprise on our custom-
ers’ reaction to validation and payment. Customers felt it was
a hassle to get paid at retail, to check your ticket to see if you
won and then find a retail outlet to get paid. But on the digital
channel, customers had a high level of satisfaction because they
didn’t have to do anything. They got a push notification saying
they’d won a prize and the prize was already transferred into
their e-wallet if it was below a certain threshold. So we were
surprised about how real people behave in the real world—it’s
not always what you would expect.
David Barden:
New Mexico is a smaller lottery. When I ar-
rived in 2013, we had 13,000 players registered for a rewards
program that didn’t exist. We’re up to 51,000 people now for a
rewards program that applies to our $1, $2, and $3 tickets. So
we are collecting information for the first time. It’s been esti-
mated that the average person picks up their cellphone about
200 times a day. In my state, when they pick up their phone
they’re not getting anything from the lottery and that has to
change. We’re getting ready to come out with a mobile app
that’s going to be pretty aggressive. You’re going to be able to
do your purchase on your phone, walk in, scan it under our
photon terminal, print the ticket, and pay at retail. It will store
all your vital information. So each time you come in, if you
have your lucky numbers you don’t have to go through the
whole process.
We recently did a customer mapping
exercise with our lottery players.
Some had purchased on our digital
channel and others had purchased
at retail. The results were the opposite
of what we expected.
—Kevin Gass