Grandview Theater in Columbus, OH is capitalizing on the new digital world of Pokemon Go (image by Kris Kling)

With the release of Pokemon Go and the resulting social phenomenon, it is time for business owners to take advantage of the new digital world that envelopes them.

In the game Pokemon Go, players are greeted with a Google Map style interface which tracks their movements in realtime GPS. As the player walks down the street, their avatar moves with them accordingly. One of the objectives in the game is to visit places known as ‘Poké Stops’ to refill your items such as Pokeballs and Potions which let you compete in the game.

Eventually, every player in Pokemon Go has to visit multiple Poké Stops to continue playing the game without spending real money on in-app-purchases. Almost everything you can purchase in the game you can also find at Poké Stops, so most players will spend considerable time walking to various Poké Stops to gather needed items instead of spending money.

Poké Stops in downtown Columbus, most of them with Lures to attract more Pokemon and players (image by Kris Kling)

Poké Stops are represented in the game by spinning blue cubes, and they are strategically placed by the game at local landmarks, parks, schools, and churches. As many businesses have noticed recently, their foot traffic has exploded because they happen to be located exactly where a Poké Stop is placed, enticing players to gather around their stores.

This is incredibly important for a business, insomuch as the game continues to attract a large audience of players. The businesses in range of a Poké Stop are in the perfect position of capitalizing on the success of the game by offering players incentives to stay around the Poké Stop and spend money at their business.

The Artful Dodger in Virginia offering discounts for Pokemon Go players (image by RawrImAMonster)

For example, let’s say that there happens to be a Poké Stop near a local bar or restaurant. This business could advertise and offer discounts to Pokemon Go players to let them know that while they drink or dine, they can also take advantage of the items gathered by repeatedly visiting the Poké Stop over the course of their stay. Judging by the large demographic range enjoying the game, this doesn’t just apply to kids or specific narrow age groups, so businesses of all types can get in on the action.

Elixer Juice Bar enticing local trainers with deals (image by JasonBerk)

In fact, savvy business owners have started using an item called ‘Lures’ on their local Pokestops to encourage more Pokemon to show up for people to catch. By placing Lures at popular times, such as happy hour or dinner rush, businesses can take advantage of the increased foot traffic by local players of the game.

As the game Pokemon Go continues to enjoy incredible success, it is just the beginning of games that will encourage players to get out into the real world and explore. The model that the game introduced, which itself is a derivative of their previous game Ingress, goes to show that modern business owners can take advantage of the new digital world that has enveloped them if they understand how they can connect with players in the real world to benefit their sales and positively interact with their customers.