WHEN KK Group saw sales at many of its 24-hour KK Super Mart convenience stores and KK Kopitiam surge last weekend, it could not immediately put a finger on what was going on. But, soon enough, the company realised that the latest online gaming craze, Pokémon Go, was contributing to a jump in store traffic and sales.
KK Group founder Datuk Chai Kee Kan tells The Edge that a number of its 223 convenience stores have seen an increase in sales of up to 20%. Even Donutes Coffee, Cake & Baking, which just opened for business in Kuchai Lama on Aug 6, is enjoying brisk sales.
“Of late, we have had to call our suppliers and distribution centres more often to place our orders to replenish our shelves.
“There has been a moderate increase across the board. But given the current economic situation, this growth is good,” Chai says. He observes that gamers — who are not just youths but include those in their 40s and 50s — often walk in to buy items like drinks and snacks. He is now working on how he can leverage the popularity of Pokémon Go to boost sales further.
Just as Pokémon Go has benefited KK Group, shopping centres have also experienced a significant jump in patronage over the past week as hunters try to track and capture Pokémonsters such as Pikachu, Dragonite and Charizard. And this increase in visitors is translating into a spike in carpark occupancy at malls and improved sales, especially for food and beverage (F&B) retailers.
Sunway Shopping Malls & Theme Parks CEO HC Chan, who describes Pokémon Go as a global phenomenon, tells The Edge that the average footfall at its malls has seen double-digit increases in the past week. “Statistically, more footfall leads to more sales,” Chan says.
“From our observation, fast food, quick service restaurants and beverage outlets are seeing bigger crowds,” he says, adding that many visitors are seen staring at the screens of their smartphones.
Sunway operates four shopping centres — Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Putra, Sunway Giza in the Klang Valley and Sunway Carnival Mall in Penang — which have a combined 3.3 million sq ft in nett lettable area.
Since the launch of Pokémon Go last Saturday, Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Putra and Sunway Giza have seen their car count increase by an average of 10% in the first six days until Aug 11, compared with the same period the previous week. The actual footfall is expected to be far higher, particularly in Sunway Pyramid, as each car is assumed to carry more than one person. Moreover, the shopping centre is seeing an increase in walk-in patrons, predominantly young adults, possibly from the universities and colleges in the Subang area.
Pokémon Go is based on the Pokémon franchise that gained popularity through video games, animated television series and trading card games. Pokémon is an abbreviation of Pocket Monster. The simple rule of the game is to capture Pokémons, evolve them and train them for battle.
How is Sunway attracting customers to the mall? According to Chan, Sunway Pyramid, which has 1.9 million sq ft of retail space, has 20 PokéStops. These are fixed locations where you can collect items and catch monsters more easily.
Sunway Pyramid is setting up Lure Modules — modules that attract Pokémon to a PokéStop for 30 minutes — by purchasing them and activating them at a chosen time and a chosen location where the mall wants the traffic to head. Lures cost RM4.70 per hour to activate.
“We choose the hours and places we want the traffic to go to,” Chan says. If a PokéStop is nearby, he says, the hunters will definitely be in the shop, seated and consuming food and drinks. “Otherwise, they have just a quick bite and continue the hunt.”
Tan Hai Hsin managing director of Retail Group Malaysia (RGM), which tabulates retail sales data on behalf of the Malaysia Retailer’s Association, expects the F&B sector to benefit the most. “F&B outlets will benefit the most from this latest craze. In Singapore, sales have increased by 20% to 30% at F&B outlets that are near a PokéStop. These include hawker stalls and 7- Eleven stores. This trend will be the same in Malaysia,” Tan says. But he adds that the increase will only be temporary.
In June, RGM revised retail sales growth for the year to 3.5% from 4% earlier, following a worse-than-expected retail performance in the first quarter of 2016.
The developer of Pokémon Go, Niantic Inc, based the game on the same location data used in an earlier mobile game produced by the company called Ingress. It appears that in the early days of the game, businesses could submit a request to a have a PokéStop located at their outlet, but that does not seem to be possible anymore.
Apart from Sunway, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur is also using Pokémon Go as a marketing tool.
“With dozens of PokéStops and the famous Pavilion Crystal Fountain being a PokéGym, Pavilion KL is already one of the hottest Pokémon hunting grounds in town. Since the Pokémon Go app was launched, the mall has seen crowds of enthusiasts on the hunt.
“With the Pokémon hunting trail, organised by Pavilion KL from last Monday, Pokémon trainers are rewarded with a RM30 dining voucher when they complete the trail with Pokémons captured at each stop. It helps to create engagement and more excitement for our mall and tenants,” Pavilion KL’s director of marketing Kung Suan Ai tells The Edge. Pavilion KL has nine PokéStops and one PokéGym.
She adds that Pavilion KL has bought and activated over 100 Lures and was slated to continue releasing them until Aug 14, to coincide with its Pokémon trail hunt dining rewards.
The Spring Shopping Mall in Kuching, Sarawak, and Atria Shopping Gallery in Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya, have also started to piggyback on Pokémon Go’s popularity and have organised promotions with prizes up for grabs. Sunway Pyramid is giving away an iPhone 6, Radioshack headphones, power banks as well as shopping and dining vouchers.
Will this interest in Pokémon Go fizzle out? Chan does not discount the possibility of it waning. He says it is simply too early to gauge its sustainability.
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