It’s official – Pokémon Go really does help small businesses catch ’em all [infographic]

By now, it’s common knowledge that small businesses, particularly retailers near so-called “PokéStops,” can use mobile game phenomenon Pokémon Go to increase foot traffic – but now Slant Marketing has the numbers to prove it.

The Chicago-based promotional agency, which prides itself on incorporating the latest technology into its work, recently surveyed 500 Pokémon Go players to identify how the game changed their interactions with local businesses.

The results, while less than surprising for the Pokémon Go experts who write for ITBusiness.ca, serve as excellent news for the many business owners purchasing Lures for their establishments. For example:

  • 71 per cent of players reported visiting a business simply because there were PokéStops or Gyms nearby;
  • Among the players who admitted to being directly “lured” to a business, almost half stayed for at least 30 minutes;
  • 51 per cent of players reported visiting a business for the first time because of Pokémon Go;
  • 56 per cent of players preferred visiting local businesses while playing over national chains.

Best of all, as Slant staff pointed out in an Aug. 9 blog post, Pokémon Go’s largest demographic is millennials, with the average player surveyed 29 years old.

“Flush with disposable income, millennials are a notoriously hard target for advertisers due to their jaded views of typical marketing techniques,” Slant’s staff wrote. “Pokémon Go gets around this by attracting potential customers without them even knowing they’re being marketed to.”

Indeed, the survey found that only 36 per cent of players believed they were being intentionally lured by businesses (though only 17 per cent believed they weren’t being intentionally lured, and 47 per cent weren’t sure).

So while developer Niantic has yet to officially implement Pokémon Go’s much-requested (and promised) “sponsored locations” feature, it’s good to know the audience will be ready for it when it arrives.

Check out the infographic summarizing the rest of Slant’s research below (click for a larger version).

Pokémon Go infographic

Would you recommend this article?

Share

Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you think of this article!
We'd love to hear your opinion about this or any other story you read in our publication.


Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

Featured Download

Eric Emin Wood
Eric Emin Wood
Former editor of ITBusiness.ca turned consultant with public relations firm Porter Novelli. When not writing for the tech industry enjoys photography, movies, travelling, the Oxford comma, and will talk your ear off about animation if you give him an opening.

Featured Story

How the CTO can Maintain Cloud Momentum Across the Enterprise

Embracing cloud is easy for some individuals. But embedding widespread cloud adoption at the enterprise level is...

Related Tech News

Get ITBusiness Delivered

Our experienced team of journalists brings you engaging content targeted to IT professionals and line-of-business executives delivered directly to your inbox.

Featured Tech Jobs