Although the rise of digital shopping can be considered a challenge to lotteries and a concern for traditional retailers, consumers expect that brands acknowledge and adapt to their shopping behaviors across channels. There are myriad solutions to facilitate a modernized or revised retail player journey and pave the way for Connected Play, IGT’s term for an omnichannel presence, even in jurisdictions that are not yet regulated for digital wagering:
- The ticket checker, an already well-established technology, negates the need to join a line or interact with clerks.
- Digital prize payment eliminates the need to go back in store with a winning ticket, interact with clerks, or handle cash. Working with IGT to implement solutions that enable a Connected Play experience will allow players to have configurable tier winnings paid digitally to their eEallet or bank account, consistent with how many consumers are already transacting today.
- Digital play slips allow players to store their favorite numbers in an app rather than on paper. Digital play slips can also help lotteries generate user profiles. A unique player ID is embedded into the digital slip, and its use in store generates additional player data even when the player is anonymous.
- Digital journeys are an acquisition tool. Lotteries can demonstrate player benefits whilst providing new opportunities for engagement. For example, when a player opts to receive their ticket digitally, they could opt in by providing their phone number or email to receive notifications if their ticket is a winner. As ‘light’ registration occurs, lotteries can offer additional digital functionalities, such as an eWallet. Digital players who have funded their lottery eWallet can utilize available funds at retail via a terminal or vending machine giving lotteries visibility of the full scale of their transactions. We call this Know your Customer (KYC).
- Loyalty should not be excluded from the Connected Play experience. It is a simple acquisition tool for all channels. Starbucks is a prime model for loyalty programs, providing in-store prompts to download the app, loyalty points for purchases, rewards, and more. Lotteries can follow this model with rewards or free tickets for product trials, second chance drawings, and third-party brand partnerships. U.S. retailers have expressed a desire to capture consumers’ loyalty identifications and associate them with their lottery purchases. This would allow retailers to tie lottery into a 360o view, allow players to earn points from lottery and other purchases, and encourage increased lottery purchasing for those with the means to do so. However they’re executed, Loyalty Programs are an organic way to get players onto the Connected Play journey.
Change is inevitable, and the need for it has accelerated. Rather than relying on what worked in the past, the industry has an opportunity to review, adapt, and quickly respond to these new consumer needs. To learn more about where our industry is headed, and how we can interpret and leverage these insights to continue to move our industry forward, follow us on LinkedIn.
