OMNICO
Data-driven personalization is key, says Omnico CEO Mel Taylor
How customer loyalty can propel casinos back to success in 2021
T
here’s no doubt that 2020 has been one of the toughest years yet for the attractions industry, and businesses like casinos have suffered considerable losses due to the pandemic. COVID-19 restrictions impacted customer
confidence and forced venues to close for months at a time, thereby capping visitor numbers and causing profits to plummet significantly. For instance, the UK gaming scene saw a year-on-year drop in revenue, while large US casinos lost between $42,000 and $700,000 every day they remained closed.
That being said, while uncertainty lingers, with New Year
lockdowns still in place in many countries, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. According to experts, 2021 has the potential to be a huge
year for casinos, with spending at these venues forecast to increase as the coronavirus situation improves. With vaccine roll-out gathering pace and travel set to resume, in-person gambling is expected to pick up again. So much so that casino stocks are growing in value as investors anticipate this trend. This encouraging upward trajectory leaves casinos with a
key challenge for the year: how can they make the most of this opportunity for recovery? Capitalising on each
Harrahs, Atlantic City
element of the casino experience, driving spend at every opportunity, and generating repeat visits will be fundamental.
Loyalty as an engine for recovery
In order to regain revenue in 2021, casinos have to come to terms with a fact: just because restrictions ease, it doesn’t mean getting guests back through the doors will be a walk in the park. In fact, eighty percent of consumers surveyed in a recent Omnico study are reluctant to visit casinos this year, with virus-related concerns meaning 1 in 3 won’t visit at all. Many businesses are taking consumers’ safety concerns seriously by reconfiguring the dining element of their venues, or scrapping risky areas, like card rooms, altogether. Some have shifted their focus on retaining customers, in order to make the most of every interaction with those that do come in: Royal Panda, for instance, has created a tiered system that divides guests into bronze, silver, gold and diamond categories based on bet-earned loyalty points. Casinos that are paying more attention to returning
guests, in order to thrive against this year’s challenging backdrop, are certainly on to something. It doesn’t seem likely that traffic will return to pre-pandemic levels, at least not immediately, and working with a significantly reduced footfall means every single guest who walks through the doors counts. Engagement is key, seamless interactions are a must-have, and loyalty is crucial.
A multi-touchpoint leisure experience
Once perceived strictly as a place for gambling, casino revenue streams have evolved, with income now generated from multiple channels: from restaurants and bars, to stores and gas stations. In Las Vegas, for instance, casino revenue generated by food and drink increased respectively by around 50% and 100% in the period between 1984 and 2016. Gaming only makes up a third of a casino’s revenue today, with most income generated with food, drink and nightlife. The casino is now a true leisure hub made up of a series
of touch points, and guests’ interactions with each of them can affect their perception of the venue, shape their overall experience, and determine whether they return. This is something casinos simply can’t afford to overlook as they work to drive repeat visits and recover revenue from the pandemic.
28 FEBRUARY 2020
coachwood/Adobe Stock
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