PGIJANFEBMAGAZINE2021a

SCiQ Ecosystem Positions Lottery for the Future of Retail tie purchases to specific players and give insights into what players like. “All this information was nonexistent before SCiQ ,” Martineck said. “It's the intelligent evolution of lottery product retail execution.” Keeping Games in Stock As retailers modernize, products have to earn their prominent placement on c-store counters. Making lottery valuable and economically viable for retailers is essential. Notably, preventing out-of-stocks can have a significant positive impact on sales—and ultimately, lottery profits. A recent study by Scientific Games in Arizona demonstrates the negative impact of empty bins on sales at major lottery retailers. For the last year, a leading chain lottery retailer in Arizona had an out-of-stock percentage of 8.58% with estimated lost sales of about $8.5 million. This translated into about $74,000 in lost sales per store. Reducing the out-of-stock percentage by just 1% could generate $1 million more sales for the c-store chain. The real-time data provided by SCiQ helps prevent out-of-stocks so retailers can keep selling. Scientific Games reports that retailers and lotteries fully adopting the features of the SCiQ ecosystem can drive a 15 to 20% increase in instant game sales. Securing the Product In December 2019, a man jumped behind the counter of a metro Phoenix convenience store to try to steal lottery tickets. To his surprise, the store’s SCiQ bin securely safeguarded the instant games, minimizing the lottery product loss to the retailer. Even if the thief had managed to remove tickets, SCiQ inventory management and ticket tracking technology enables a lottery to void any stolen tickets within minutes. Reducing shrink and theft is a top concern for c-stores, and unsecured tickets create a liability for retailers and lotteries. If they don't know where all their tickets are, they cannot know if they have been activated, sold, stolen, etc. “Knowing the status of each ticket at a unit level allows retailers and lotteries to keep them secure,” Fulton said. Meeting Tomorrow's Needs Legendary New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra famously quipped, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” The adage is as true in lottery as it is inbaseball. Trends in consumer behavior indicate how the industry needs to expand its technology and service to meet the expectations of tomorrow’s players. Scientific Games takes this approach to innovating new technologies with advanced capabilities to help retailers sell lottery. The company’s technology solutions facilitate in-lane sales, as well as cashless payments and prizing. Incorporating mobile with SCiQ enhances players’ shopping experience and streamlines the checkout process. “With mobile, we are bringing the in- store experience into the pre-store online ecosystem,” Martineck said. As retail continues to consolidate and modernize, lottery must innovate to keep growing and delivering proceeds to good causes. The bottom line is that retailers won't keep instant games where they are if they continue to be sold like they are. “We have to give retailers and lotteries ways to make products easier to sell and players to buy. SCiQ is a significant way for the industry to evolve as retail is changing,” Martineck said. All ® notices signify marks registered in the United States. © 2021 Scientific Games Corporation. All Rights Reserved.