InComm: Prepaid Card Sales At Pharmacies Grew 200%
Pointing out a retail channel typically ignored by most online game companies, prepaid card distributor InComm says its gaming category sales at pharmacies grew more than 200 percent year-to-date compared to the same period of time in 2009.
InComm's Gaming Team attributes this increase in sales to the convenience of neighborhood drug stores, changing demographics in the pharmacy channel, and "unique and incremental fixtures executed to raise awareness of the gaming category". The company argues that with more than 19,000 locations, chain drug stares are becoming a regular top 10 destination for consumers looking for prepaid game cards.
The prepaid cards are an alternative payment method for younger gamers who want to purchase virtual goods in their favorite online titles but don't have a credit card. InComm says that by offering prepaid cards, pharmacies remind kids and their parents to pick up gaming cards while they're shopping for other items at the drug store.
Min Kim, vice president at MapleStory publisher Nexon America, has seen "tremendous" growth in prepaid cad sales from the pharmacy channel, especially since the second half in 2009. He notes that pharmacies are also starting to emphasize the cards with increased placement and heightened visibility, which Kim believes will lead to some of Nexon America's top sales this year.
"In the first quarter alone, InComm Gaming has seen a 100 percent adoption rate across the drug channel—up from 62% last year," says InComm's SVP of Consumer Products and International Brian Parlotto. "We are taking every opportunity to strengthen our retail relationships by introducing the new and exciting gaming products that are rapidly capturing the attention of so many retailers and consumers."
He continues, "In addition, we have been able to maximize our marketing efforts in tandem with these retail partners while leveraging our expertise within the gaming category. Our efforts have lead to dramatic growth for the gaming category at chain drug and have helped drive new customers to these stores."
