Businesses see boost from 'Pokemon Go' players

Editor's note: The following story has been edited to correct a misspelled name.

“Pokemon Go” has divided the nation. People walk the streets searching for their next Jigglypuff or grumble under their breath about how time could be spent better.

Though some contend the augmented-reality game is benefiting no one but the game developers, at least one segment disagrees: Local business owners are seeing increased interest, foot traffic and sales, thanks to the new game.

Downtown Cape Girardeau bustles with “Pokemon Go” activity most evenings. Southeast Missouri State University, Broadway, Main Street and Riverfront Park are dotted with PokeStops and gyms that bring Pokemon participants out in droves.

“It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Doc Cain, owner of Port Cape Girardeau, said.

A "Pokemon Go"-themed art walk presented by the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri included the Mississippi River Tales murals Friday in downtown Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

His restaurant, which sits opposite the flood wall on North Water Street, has seen an incredible increase in sales since the game was released earlier this month.

With hot temperatures throughout the region and trainers’ desire to “catch ’em all,” most of the traffic funnels toward the walk-up ice-cream window so players can grab some a waffle cone and keep going.

The customer stream is steady all day, Cain said, particularly on the weekends.

Main Street Station also has seen more sales over the last few weeks since “Pokemon Go” was released.

Some establishments are using the game as a marketing tool.

Catapult Creative House offers discounts to people who set out lures in its store.

This is a special possible only because the store itself is a Pokestop, where lures can be set and players can stock up on equipment within the game.

Shop manager Ashley Lokey said Catapult plans to begin posting photographs of captured Pokemon on its Facebook page so people can know what’s being caught.

“We almost always have lures out,” Lokey said, which draws harder-to-catch Pokemon to their stop.

Within the game, players join one of three teams, identified by the colors of red, yellow or blue.

Marco’s Pizza on Broadway was seen offering discounts to members of Team Mystic.

Gaming Grounds, a video-game store in Jackson, has seen more foot traffic.

With the Jackson Public Library, a PokeStop, just across the street and the gazebo, a PokeGym, nearby, store manager Seanan Young said his store has seen an increase in visits and sales.

The store carries a variety of Pokemon games. At least, they did.

“Before ‘Pokemon Go’ we had stacks of Pokemon games,” Young said. “Now we’re down to just a few.”

Further north in Perryville, Missouri, the battles continue.

“We’ve definitely seen more people coming out on the square,” Perryville business owner Mary Jo Bammel said. “The courthouse is a gym, and there’s been a heavy rivalry there.”

Bammel owns Villainous Grounds, a two-story coffee shop/comic book store.

She said the heat and the store’s proximity to a PokeStop have given her business a boost as thirsty Pokemon trainers seek refuge from the weather.

But it’s not just the drinks and free Wi-Fi that have enticed shoppers. She, too, has seen a boost in Pokemon merchandise sales.

“If anyone wants to know how to get in on the craze even more, you don’t have to do anything but provide merchandise, and people are just flocking to it,” Bammel said.

Bammel has begun making team T-shirts available, and the store always has carried trade paperback manga which, until the game was released, wasn’t selling well.

“We’ve been cleaned out of everything lately,” Bammel said. “They just come through and buy everything.”

Bammel said she hopes to organize a sort of Pokemon-related event in the future, but for now, she said, “We’re just riding the wave of traffic.”

What many of these business owners and managers have in common is a lack of interest in playing the game.

“I swore to myself I wouldn’t play,” Young said, though he since has succumbed. “But I’m not quite addicted like other people.”

“My daughter plays, but I don’t have time,” Bammel said, though she is keeping her eye on how the game is evolving so she knows the best way to incorporate it into other marketing efforts.

“It’s way out of my league,” Cain said. “But whatever it is, we’re glad to have it.”

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

19 N Water St, Cape Girardeau, MO

612 Broadway St, Cape Girardeau, MO

131 W Main St, Jackson, MO

26 N Jackson St, Perryville, MO