Why You Need “Saver Prizes” In Your Redemption Program

We’ve divided every prize you could offer your guests into four (4) primary categories, based on the Player Types System, to make prize selection easier and more effective.

To do this, we’ve given each Player Type what we call a Preferred Redemption Range, or a ticket range in which they most frequently redeem. It’s also the range of prizes that are most attractive to that Player Type.

We’ve identified these Preferred Redemption Ranges is because having the right Prize Value Mix — based on your business’ data — is critical to seeing optimal return in the redemption program and game room. Your Prize Value Mix is having the right variety of prizes at varying ticket ranges to satisfy all your Players needs.

Enter: The “Saver” Redemption Range. The reason the Saver Range is so important is because these players visit your center multiple times before cashing in their tickets. More visits = more $$$ spent in the game room = higher bottom line for you (cha-ching)!

The Saver Range covers any prizes ticketed between 1500 and 3500 tickets (based on our standard ticket values). Think more challenging ticket values and higher-desirable prizes, like Neon Apees — which is also one of our top performing prizes!

Who loves the Saver Redemption Range?

The players we’ve observed who prefer this redemption range are:

• (Typically) in the pre-teen to young adult range
• Has a plan to obtain high ticket-value prizes over repeat visits
• Likes the challenge of earning and saving tickets

If you have any other questions about Saver Players or their favorite Redemption Range, give one of our Value Architects a call or visit PlayerTypes.com to learn about our ever-evolving Player Type System so we can guarantee you have the perfect Prize Value Mix.

It’s important to remember that every center needs a percentage of prizes in the Saver Redemption Range to encourage repeat visits.

We also see a lot of specific kinds of FEC & BECs with a higher percentage of Saver Players, like businesses on location at a resort, where most people are staying for more than one night and will visit the game room regularly throughout their stay.

“Our redemption program is within a resort location. I think our Apees do so well because kids stay and play multiple days, thus allowing them to save up more tickets. We have the benefit of the game room being in the same place they’re stay for vacation, unlike most family entertainment centers where guests go home at the end of their arcade visit. It helps that parents are more likely to spend more money while the family is on vacation.” Jamie with Cabana Bay Resort in Orlando, Florida

Picking the Right Saver Prizes

Now that you know you should be buying (at least some) Saver Prizes, it’s important to know how to maintain a great selection of merchandise within this range:

• Variety is key. The good thing about this ticket range is it includes a large variety of items — electronics, candy, board games and, of course, we can’t ignore plush.
• These players are looking for prizes that can be a part of their lifestyle — think headphones and selfie sticks and plush.
• Utilize our Saver category online to find other great options.

Merchandising Matters

Getting the right prizes is only half the battle. How you merchandise them determines how your guests perceive the value of your prizes, and can even dictate their incentive to play games (to win those prizes). That’s a lot of $$$ riding on merchandising! Typically items in the Saver range are merchandised in display cases, on shelves or in baskets. Here are our merchandising best-practices for prizes within the Saver Range:

• For items on shelves — use spacing to make these items stand out as a focal point of your redemption area. Remember, you’re trying to motivate repeat visits or game play. Keep higher ticket items toward the top.

• Baskets — this merchandising method is great for saver-range plush items. Keep the eyes facing out and make sure all options are visible from the front of the basket.

• For display cases — for Saver items that go well in a display case, we suggest grouping like items together. If you can display products outside of the box (and plugged in if it’s a light) that’s a bonus! And please, always make sure the glass on your display case is clean!

The Right Prize Value Mix = A Winning Business

We know that getting your Prize Value Mix can be difficult: keeping track of trends, best practices, the science of merchandising and changes to customer behavior all take hours of effort and dollars from your bottom line.

If you’d like to get those hours back in your day to focus on building a better guest experience for your players (and a better bottom line), rather than choosing which prizes go where, we’re here to help.

It’s why we created our Prize Storyboards, or pre-designed prize plans, with the perfect Prize Value Mix for your business, refreshed twice a year. Each Storyboard is merchandised with a narrative in mind to engage your guests and make finding the perfect prize a piece of cake. It’s Easy. It’s Simple. It Works.

This is one of our favorite Prize Storyboards, Fluff & Stuff.

• No more work picking prizes
• No more hours spent choosing where they should go for maximum redemption
• No more wasted time

Let us handle the hassle, while you focus on what you need to: managing an amazing business and guest experience.

If that sounds awesome to you, we encourage you connect with one of our Value Architects today and ask about our new Merchandising Solutions, using our new Prize Storyboards to eliminate waste and rework, give you back hours a week, and maximize your redemption economics for optimal return.

This article is by @Tabatha Bender, a Connection Crusader at Redemption Plus.

Insights Empower is a collection of thoughts & insights to inspire, educate and connect the Family Entertainment & Bowling Center industry. From the team at Redemption Plus, est. 2017 🎉

Visit us at RedemptionPlus.com for more ways to #win.