42 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • JULY/AUGUST 2024 The Future of the in-store shopping experience — continued from page 18 Addressing the future of lottery sales, Jason Barrs highlighted the importance of continuing to value partnerships with retailers. “Lottery revenue last year was around $108 billion; sports betting was about $7.5 billion but growing 75% yearon-year. Currently, about 90% of Lottery’s revenue comes through retail channels. We need to continue to treat our retailers as the valued partners that they are and come up with innovative solutions together so that we are generating digital sales with and through retail media networks.” Moving on to retailers’ attitudes toward Lottery, Tom asked the panel to comment on changes that they’ve seen and how they are adapting to those changes. Responding first, Justin drew distinctions between two categories of retailers. “The independent retailers love Lottery and are really willing to work with us on any ideas we have that could grow their business because they are under threat from the big corporate super retailers which are putting downward pressure on the independent retailers’ percentage of sales or market share. On the other hand, those corporate super retailers are also great partners. But Lottery is not as important to them, as it doesn’t fit in as well with their overall model and strategies.” Amy Drooker agreed with the distinctions between those two categories of retailers but added that, in her experience, the big chain stores are “also really open to discussing different options for collaboration.” She also shared her perspective on retailers’ attitudes toward iLottery. “There’s a common misconception that retailers don’t like iLottery. Actually, they understand that it’s wildly growing, and they want to be connected into that. They want to get a piece of the iLottery pie.” Amy also argued for involving all stakeholders right from the start when formulating a digital strategy “because that’s the best way to ensure that the eventual strategy is executed effectively for everyone’s benefit.” Jason described STRATACACHE’s approach to measuring customer traffic at a large U.S. grocery chain. Sensors are placed in carts and baskets, along with counters installed at doors, that map each customer’s journey throughout thestore while quantifying dwell time and engagement. A unique session ID is created, which can then be matched against the grocer’s transaction data and loyalty program. “This allows us to measure the store like you would a website, looking at how many impressions a screen gets and comparing against transactions,” said Jason. “We can look at how many people visited a display, how long they stayed, where they came from, and where they went next. These insights inform decisions about store layout, allowing the retailer to move products around to monetize real estate. And if the customer swipes a loyalty card, the retailer can upsell through targeted advertisements online - creating a true omnichannel customer journey that provides value to both the retailer and the consumer.” Tonya celebrated the “very, very good relationships” that the Missouri Lottery has with its retailers, which helped when negotiating a significant increase in the number of self-service vending machines across the state. However, she also highlighted some challenges encountered following that expansion. “New vending machines require retailers’ staff to stock them. And they’ve faced problems with labor shortages or clerks not showing up or not doing their jobs. So, we need to work out solutions to keep our machines full and switched on.” Turning to the role of the clerk in Lottery, Tom asked the panel how they saw that developing in the future. Michael emphasized the ongoing importance of both clerks and store managers, who are responsible for keeping tickets loaded and displays updated. “If the clerks and managers aren’t engaged,” he said, “then we’re all going to struggle.” Amy stressed the importance of providing clerks with the support they need to sell and process lottery tickets. “We need to give retailers lots of training videos and have QR codes on the vending machines that show clerks how to deal with the most common problems. We have an abundance of resources for retailers on our website, and we need to support them however we can.” Terry made the case for using technology that prioritizes the customer experience and gave the example of Jackpocket, which identified that many customers want to buy at retail but order through an app. “Jackpocket met that demand with a an app that delivers what those customers wanted. And that’s probably why they’re the number one retailer in every state they’re in. So, retailers who are making decisions about self-checkout need to work out what their customers want, and the answers will differ from place to place.” Referencing the idea that modern customers are increasingly focused on shopping speedily, Tom asked, “What can we do to try to make sure that quick visit includes an interaction with the Lottery?” For Tonya, the key issue was product visibility and the quality of the signage and digital menu boards. Similarly, Jason talked about the placement of in-store advertising, recommending it should be right above the cashier’s point of sale if possible. Terry agreed about the importance of in-lane jackpot signs to encourage impulse purchases and posed the question, “Why is it that convenience stores are generally outselling grocery stores when they have ten times less traffic? It comes down to signage and distribution points.” Returning to his earlier point about stores’ differing priorities, Michael again discussed those experience-oriented retailers that are trying to keep customers present for longer. He also agreed with Jason, “The closer you can get your product to the point of sale, the more you will sell. You want to have the digital displays, the actual products, and everything right there at checkout.” On that theme, Amy reflected on the “Being able to incentivize our sales force is a game changer for me.”
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