26 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 Continued on page 48 So much ink and thoughts have been spent pondering the future of the lottery industry in the digital world, one might think that consumers are migrating en masse onto the internet. In reality, the vast majority of revenue continues to flow from brick-andmortar lottery retailers, the large chains and convenience stores that have driven lottery sales for decades. The land-based channel may be referred to as “traditional retail,” but retail stores are innovating to stay relevant to their customers just as lottery is evolving to stay relevant to its players. Lottery leaders realize that their players have changed and how they interact with the lottery is going to be quite different in the years to come. Panel moderator and Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko began the discussion on retail modernization by pointing out the challenges faced by today’s lottery. “More and more we’re talking about how our players are connecting with us and us with them, and reaching them wherever they are,” he said. “That certainly includes connecting the retail experience with their digital life. Reaching them before they get to the stores and then helping shape their purchasing decisions once they’re in the stores. One of our goals today is to look at how we can best marry the retail and digital experiences.” Helping answer this, and other important retail questions were: Krista Stepa-Ammeter, Director, Sales & Marketing, Pollard Banknote Tonya Beenders, Chief Sales Officer, Missouri Lottery Max Goldstein, Vice President Sales Americas, Carmanah Signs Terry Presta, Head of Business, North America, Abacus Paul Riley, Vice President, Retail Innovation & Partnerships, IGT Pollard’s Krista Stepa-Ammeter pointed out that because our players have such a diversity of motivational drivers and ways to access and play the games, lotteries must be ready to reach everyone no matter where the consumer may be inclined to purchase lottery tickets. “We can’t necessarily utilize the same digital channels to connect with all players,” she said. “And the majority of lotteries can’t sell online. So when it comes to pathways to connect with our players, there is no one-size-fits-all answer for all lotteries. However, we need to be working towards the idea of unified commerce across all channels. Whether the player is buying at a store or online, using their mobile device or a self-service checkout, we need to keep the message the same, and make it easy to navigate across multiple distributional channels to play the games.” Max Goldstein of Carmanah Signs, a specialist in reaching players at retail, said the tried-and-true method of “can’t miss” signage still provides the best at-retail marketing. “The biggest bang for your buck is putting jackpot signs in-lane,” he said. “We have research from many jurisdictions that shows how placing relatively inexpensive jackpot signs in-lane resulted in as much as a 250% increase in sales versus no signs. Looking at other areas of growth and the future of retail, games like eInstants and Fast Play represent a new communications challenge. These categories require networked digital signage, you need a solution that provides real-time data. And, really, that is what players expect from lottery. “Consumers, especially those under 40, now expect digital communication at retail,” Max continued. “Leading retailers and brands are responding by installing in-store digital signage, improving the retail experience and generating incremental sales. Lotteries are installing their own digital signage networks in which they can control 100% of the content and messaging. Examples of digital sign formats include Digital Menu Boards, Digital PlayStations, and small footprint countertop signage. This type of digital content reinvents the lottery retail experience and engages players with highly targeted, automated dynamic content.” P A N E L D I S C U S S I O N Following is an executive summary of a one-hour panel discussion held at the PGRI Lottery Expo Conference in Nashville Retail Modernization and Optimization Krista Stepa-Ammeter Terry Presta Max Goldstein Tonya Beenders Paul Riley Drew Svitko
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