In an era when online shopping dominates 16.1% of the total market share, businesses are under immense pressure to find revenue-boosting opportunities that naturally compel in-store shopping, resonate with the brand identity, and contribute to the bottom line, all while enhancing the customer journey rather than disrupting it.
Additionally, any profit-growth strategy must offer seamless metric tracking, allowing retailers to closely monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of a given solution so they can adapt to fluctuating trends and customer preferences.
The coin-operated amusement machine market offers all these qualities and an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5% by 2030, with a predicted worth of $13.7 billion. Couple that with the small footprint of game machines, often only 5-7 square ft. each, and you have the ideal solution for transforming underutilized space into alternative revenue streams.
Today, we’ll explain how businesses can use COAMs to engage customers and increase profits by capitalizing on empty spaces in a retail location.
Route Gaming as a Revenue Multiplier
To compete with the convenience of online storefronts and grocery delivery services, retail stores must offer customers a value proposition that justifies trading out the convenience of e-commerce with a brick-and-mortar visit.
One high-return but often underutilized option is route gaming, or the installation of video game terminals (VGT), video lottery terminals (VLT), coin-operated amusement machine (COAM) skill games, and redemption games. Unlike traditional gambling machines found in casinos, these Class B COAMs do not award cash. Instead, they pay players in redemption tickets for in-store merchandise, lottery tickets, free plays, gasoline, and, more recently, gift cards through the Georgia Lottery Corporation’s COAM Gift Card Pilot Progam.
The revenue-boosting benefits of hosting VGT, VLT, and COAMs are two-fold.
First, as a Class B Location license holder, you’ll receive 45% of all revenue from gameplay. The remaining revenue is split between the Master license holder and the Georgia Lottery Corporation — 45% and 10%, respectively. To put that in context, COAMs sold around $4.8 billion in plays in 2022, equating to $2.16 billion in the pockets of Georgia business owners. Keep in mind that this percentage split is unique to the state of Georgia, so returns can vary based on operating location.
Second, COAMs are a natural enticement that offers a more engaging in-store experience, resulting in increased foot traffic, visit lengths, and visit frequency—the sales potential skyrockets when customers stay in your retail location longer and stop by more often.
Strategies for Maximizing Revenue per Square Foot With COAMs
Effort and strategy directly correlate with gaming terminal revenue—the more that a business puts into COAM placement, operation, and marketing, the more returns per square foot they’re likely to see on investment.
Thoughtful Placement
Because COAMs require only 5 to 7 square feet of space per machine, businesses have a lot of flexibility in their placement. However, the revenue-earning potential fluctuates based on how strategically you incorporate them into the existing floor space.
To encourage gameplay, machines should be a focal point of the store. Position them in areas with the highest foot traffic—near entrances and exits—to ensure maximum visibility.
Alternatively, retail spaces with sufficient room can create comfortable gaming areas with seating, vending machines, a merchandise selection, and other amenities. Getting players off their feet and into a more relaxed environment encourages longer gameplay and increases the chances that they’ll purchase products such as food and drinks.
A Frictionless Redemption Process
Despite still being referred to as “coin-operated,” route gaming machines have transitioned into the digital age with built-in card readers for the player’s convenience. While that’s one step in the right direction, businesses can benefit further by removing barriers to play and redemption by offering players a single, integrated system that allows them to register to play, reload their digital wallets, and redeem their winnings.
INAMAX’s Titan Redemption System is the first of its kind in the COAM market, with an intuitive sales pipeline that puts the power into the player’s hands. With the Titan Player Card, customers can replay winnings at a different machine, store their winnings to use on future visits, and quickly redeem them through a customized dashboard that reduces the time employees spend managing game operations.
Data-Driven Decision-Making
How receptive customers are to a particular game machine can vary, so it’s essential to leverage gameplay data to ensure that each terminal occupying space in your store is pulling its weight regarding revenue potential.
In addition to its player benefits, the Titan Redemption System gives business owners seamless, real-time access to analytics that provide valuable insights into key performance indicators such as play times, usage frequency, revenue generation, and more. These data points offer an opportunity to phase out underperformers and curate an optimized machine mix tailored to your exact customer base.
INAMAX Powered by Ultra works with three top manufacturers at the cutting edge of route gaming entertainment: International Game Technology (IGT), Banilla Games, and JVL. For as little as $125, the Georgia state licensing fee, our clients can tap into INAMAX’s extensive catalog of modern, high-performing game terminals that bring out clients an average of $5,000 per month in low-effort revenue.
An Experienced and Expert COAM Master Licensing Partner
Perhaps the most critical factor for maximizing revenue per square foot is who you choose as your Master Licensing partner.
As a business owner, you may feel you already have enough to do without adding route gaming to the load. That’s why the INAMAX team has made it our priority to make COAM revenue more accessible to Georgia business owners without any extra hassle.
You can rely on INAMAX to work with you through every phase of the process, from initial licensing to installation and beyond. Our top priority is to ensure that every client we work with has access to best-in-class customer support, with SLA turnaround times of less than 6 hours, a metric unmatched by other COAM partners.
If you’re ready to put more money in your pocket each month without sacrificing valuable retail space, contact an INAMAX expert today. We’re experts in revenue optimization, with our skilled gaming machines earning 16% over the Georgia average, and we’ll show you how your business can get in on the action.