GAME Digital: data-driven insights

GIVING CUSTOMERS THE retail experience that suits their approach to buying makes them more likely to be loyal, GAME Digital has found. That loyalty has tangible impact on the video gaming specialist’s sales – and in the compamy’s profits.

“Customers increasingly want to shop across a range of channels – in store and online, at home and on the go – and so helping our customers discover gaming content and shop with us wherever and whenever they want is a key driver of loyalty,” GAME said in its latest full-year results statement. Tellingly, it added, “Customers who shop with us across more than one channel spend 2.5 times more on average than single channel customers.”

The benefits of a multichannel approach can be seen right at the bottom line. The multichannel retailer made pre-tax profits of £2.8 million on turnover of £861.8 million, in the year to 26 July 2014 – with sales 31% up on the same time last year. The figures came only 27 months since GAME Digital was bought out of an administration that came about when it failed to keep up with consumers’ move online. Now GAME has been named a Leading retailer in the IRUK 500, 2015 Brand and Engagement Performance Dimension.

In the full-year results, GAME said it was “focused on building on our world class insight capabilities to improve and increase customer engagement with the aim of positioning the group at the centre of the supplier-customer relationship.” Its insights come from its loyalty card scheme, which, with 4.7 million active members, is one of the biggest in the sector. The loyalty card has helped it gain a single view of its customers, including those who spend cash in store.

The results for GAME Digital in the IRUK Brand and Engagement Dimension – see the Analysing the Numbers section for more details.

Previously data, from the mobile app to customer service, was in different, unconnected channels. Fred Prego , insight and reward director at GAME, says a strategic use of data has enabled the retailer to make its customer engagement timely and relevant. “We used to send two or three generic emails a week, based on what customers had bought in the past,” he told InternetRetailing Conference 2014. “Now we send 15 to 20 that are extremely personalised and relevant because of the analysis and the strategy we built around the data.”

As well as understanding shopping behaviour through loyalty card data, Game also works with publishers to understand how those shoppers play the games they buy from it, a strategy that can also boost crossselling and upselling. “We’ve started datamatching to understand what types of customers are related,” says Prego. “This is in its infancy, but it will grow.”