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Study shows value to stores of selling lottery ticketsby Acting Commissioner Jim Kipp
A recent National Association of Convenience Stores
(NACS) study conducted by Ernst and Young further supports the position
that Lottery products are an integral part of each and every retailer’s
product line. The study analyzed each product category to determine
how Lottery products ranked. According to the study, the top six products
sold in convenience stores are: Cigarettes 27.6% The fact that Lottery is the second-highest product
category demonstrates the value of Lottery products to your business
as a whole. With regard to transaction dollars, the study showed
that frequent Lottery customers spend approximately $7.07 per visit;
infrequent Lottery customers spend about $4.80 per visit and non-Lottery
customers spend around $3.47 per visit. According to the study, Lottery customers purchase at
least one other item on 95 percent of their store visits. That means
that almost every time a Lottery customer comes into your store he or
she will buy not only a Lottery ticket, but another product you sell
as well. As part of the study, store managers were interviewed
to determine their opinions about customers in relation to Lottery products.
In the interviews, over 50 percent of store managers agreed that customer
traffic has increased with the introduction of Lottery products in their
stores. Furthermore, many managers stated that they believe that if
Lottery tickets were unavailable in their stores, between 10 and 30
percent of their customers would visit less often. An especially noteworthy piece of the study was the
“shrink” component. Shrink was analyzed as a percent to sales
before and after the introduction of Lottery, and the results showed
no difference in shrink before or after Lottery products were introduced.
It is a common public misconception that the introduction of Lottery
tickets in a store will increase the degree of shrink. The information in this study is very enlightening and
important. It illustrates that retailers who sell Lottery tickets attract
more customers, and once in the store, the likelihood of customers purchasing
additional merchandise greatly increases. Retailer Commissions Your Lottery district sales representative or your Tel-Sell
representative will provide you with your historical instant sales information
and will help you identify and achieve your goals each quarter. Big Game May 14 marks the final drawing for The Big Game in its
current form. The number of draws available for multi-draw wagers start
“counting down” by one after the March 3 drawing. Please see your March issue of Gameline for a
complete countdown schedule. Bonus Play As has been the case with past Rolldown “Bonus
Play” promotions, Lottery retailers will earn a six-percent commission
on the free wagers at no cost to them. New Instants On March 7, Lottery players will be spelling their way
to big bucks when the $5 “Bingo Mania” instant ticket goes
on sale offering a $300,000 top prize. Also on March 7, the Lottery
will introduce the $1 “Lucky Duck Doubler,” with a top prize
of $4,000. For the high rollers, also on March 7, the $10 “Casino
Riches” will go on sale offering a $1,000,000 top prize. On March 14, lucky Lottery players all over Michigan
will be winning big with the new $5 “Fortune Hunter,” which
offers a $250,000 top prize. Lottery players will be on the path to wealth with the
$2 “Money Path,” which hits ticket counters on March 21 offering
a top prize of $25,000. Finally, on March 28, your customers will be reeling in the prizes with the $1 “Cash of the Day” instant game, offering a $5,000 top prize. |
As Lottery retailers, you are keenly aware of how popular
Lottery products are in your stores and how much money the sale of Lottery
tickets generates each year.