Pokemon Go and CRE: A New Experiential Retail

Could the answer that brick-and-mortar retailers need to vie with e-commerce be in the form of a 90s classic gone viral? Pokemon Go has rapidly ascended the charts of downloads and engaged users since it was launched about a week ago, even reportedly generating more engagement than Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and Pandora.

The app allows people to search and catch virtual Pokemon in real-life locations. This has meant increased foot traffic in cities, and a revenue booster for retailers who capitalize on the app to “lure” Pokemon in their stores, in turn, incentivizing gamers to visit their stores. The results are striking.  New York’s L’inizio Pizza Bar activated the “lure module”, and saw its sales spike 75% over the weekend.

The game’s retail effects are still unknown because of its nascent status, but it’s clear that companies like Groupon and Foursquare have a new contender that’s easily “catchin’ them all.”

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