33 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JULY/AUGUST 2024 “Walmart’s lottery team is committed to working on out of stocks at every level with a set of initiatives spanning from corporate to the stores, and down to the individual machines,” notes IGT’s Gina Easley, IGT Senior Manager National Retail Accounts, who plays a pivotal role translating the retailer’s goals and leading practices across 22 IGT-customer jurisdictions and has worked closely with Walmart in the decade-plus journey since its first lottery pilot. The retailer’s corporate team processes the lottery sales reporting they receive from around the country, filtering and consolidating where needed for use by the division managers. The team also communicates and shares reporting with the store level, and is focused on locations that regularly have a problem with out of stocks. At the store level, IGT added the option of a lighted indicator on top of its GameTouch™ 20s vending units to alert Walmart associates of issues related to the machine’s status, such as the need to refill a bin. “Focusing on out of stocks at the store and LVM level raises the importance in associates’ minds of attending to any issues quickly,” says Walmart’s Sheri Brogdon, Senior Manager II — Lottery. The retailer is also working with IGT to consider the business case for sending real-time alerts to Walmart associates’ handheld device. If implemented, such timely prompts would directly alert associates of the need to fill paper, refresh games, load empty bins, and other key actions. The retailer is now in the process of supplementing many of its 20-bin machines with full-size vending options on the front walls of its Supercenters and in the stores’ Grab-N-Go cooler areas, a newly approved location near the self-checkouts. Having at least two areas in the stores that can accommodate full-size vending units not only increases the number of bins that can be optimized, it raises the visibility of the lottery program. When it comes to visibility, Walmart’s lottery program further benefits from its unique “Re-Grand Opening” events. The recent implementation of the retailer’s lottery program at Supercenter locations in Michigan is a prime example. The rollout in Michigan is the retailer’s 35th state to oer lottery sales. The rollout began in late April, with the first lottery installation taking place in conjunction with the Re-Grand Opening of a newly renovated Supercenter. The Michigan Lottery oered giveaways at the event, with its sales representatives and IGT’s field merchandisers on site engaging players and store associates to help energize the launch and inform consumers that lottery was now available. The retailer welcomes lottery participation and is now working with the Michigan Lottery to create similar events at additional locations, as well as the Michigan launch of Walmart’s Ambassador program, which has been eective and well-received in other states to drive awareness of lottery availability. Walmart continues to expand the lottery program to new states. In April, Michigan became the 35th state to launch lottery with Walmart, and the first state where the retailer has deployed only IGT GameTouch 28™ full-size vending units. When completed, more than 150 of IGT’s GameTouch 28 self-service units will be found among 90 Supercenter locations in the state. Consolidated Reporting Standardized OOS Calculation Status Indicator Light Out of Stock Reporting LVM Data Alerts (Evaluating) Walmart Out-of-Stock Initiatives at Every Level End-to-End Eorts at Walmart
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