Reports show that the Pokemon Go augmented reality mobile game is driving huge amounts of sales at local smart businesses.
According to Inc., Pokemon Go is spreading at an unprecedented speed. The augmented reality mobile game has double the engagement of Snapchat, has been installed on twice as many phones as Tinder and it has more daily active users than Twitter, just less than a week after launch.
Smart businesses are cashing in this phenomenon as well. Any small local business can attract customers by becoming a Pokestop.
As Pokemon Go users are hunting for Pokemon, movie theaters, restaurants and local stores are capitalizing on this massive business opportunity. With creative marketing campaigns and simple in-app purchases, smart local businesses are driving in huge amounts of foot traffic.
First thing to do for a small local business looking to cash in the Pokemon Go craze is to find out whether it is a Pokestop or Gym. Gyms and Pokestops attract foot traffic without any extra effort. Pokemon Go players are attracted to them to battle other players and for rewards. With the right marketing strategy, Gyms and Pokestops can be leveraged for massive sales.
For the moment, the Pokestop and Gym locations are not listed on any official Niantic map yet. In order to find out if a local business is a Gym or Pokestop can be used the online map of portals created for the game "Ingress." The game. also developed by Niantic, maps virtually 1:1 with Pokemon Go's Gyms and Pokestops.
Meanwhile, CNET reports that the popular mobile game Pokemon Go may soon allow companies to pay to list on the game's virtual map their real-world locations In an interview for The New York Times, John Hanke, CEO of Pokemon Go developer Niantic, has announced that the game will include in the future "sponsored locations."
