Music & Games

Safety tops customer concerns about amusement game centers

The fact that less than a third of the respondents to a customer survey said they have no concerns about visiting the venues indicates amusement machine operators have a fair amount of work to do to restore customer trust.

Image courtesy of iStock

July 20, 2020 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Personal safety and being exposed to large crowds are the concerns most customers have about visiting out-of-home entertainment venues, according to a recent customer survey sponsored by LAI Games.

More than half the respondents cited these two interrelated concerns — in equal measure — as their biggest reservations, followed by general hygiene, patrons not following safety guidelines, the ability to access games and attractions, and ensuring that the staff are healthy.

The fact that less than a third of the respondents said they have no concerns about visiting the venues indicates games and amusement machine operators have a fair amount of work to do to restore customer trust.

The survey collected responses from over 500 consumers (parents and players) around the world during the last week of June 2020.

About the survey

The survey was designed to help amusement industry business owners understand and address their guests' concerns. LAI Games recommended in its report that industry members take insights into consideration along with other information provided by industry associations.

The majority of the respondents (82%) said they make decisions for their own entertainment, while the balance (18%) were parents or caretakers who decide on entertainment options for others. Respondents' ages ranged from under 12 years to over 50 years.

Safety rules

The majority of respondents (57%) said guests at amusement centers should be required to wear masks and gloves, while a sizable minority (38%) said the decision should be up to guest and only 5% said people should not have to wear masks and gloves.

The majority (71%) said they plan to bring their own personal hygiene equipment when they visit amusement centers while only 17% said they are not planning on wearing any personal hygiene equipment and 13% said the location should supply the guests the equipment.

Asked if they think locations should take social distancing seriously, 43% said they should take it very seriously while almost as many (40%) said they are slightly concerned, but that the location should decide how to handle it. Only 17% said they are not concerned about social distancing and operations should operate as they want to.

Less time for leisure

Customers are not planning to spend as much time at facilities as they did pre-COVID-19. More than 20% said they visited a venue multiple times a week pre-COVID-19, but now only about 13% say they do.

About 22% said they are now visiting a venue once every few months compared to about 17% who said they visited frequently after COVID-19.

Customers are also spending less time at the facilities when they do visit. While the same number are spending more than eight hours in an average single visit as in the past, none are spending four to eight hours at the facilities compared to 2.5% who previously spent six to eight hours and about 17% who spent four to six hours.

More than 70% said they are spending one to three hours at the facilities compared to about 65% who did so prior to COVID-19.

What's it take to bring them back?

Asked what incentives would get them to visit more often, new games and attractions topped the list with about 18% citing these incentives. This was also the single most influential incentive, cited by about 24% of the respondents. Other incentives cited were arcade tournaments, player loyalty programs, weekly game play deals, food and beverage deals, special events, new prizes in the redemption area and high cleanliness standards.

Only a small percentage said nothing would change their current habits.

Respondents hailed from around the globe, with 36% from the U.S. and just as many being from Asia. Other regions represented were Canada, South America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and Australia and New Zealand.

Family entertainment centers were the most commonly frequented locations, with more than 60% of respondents visiting FECs. Slightly more than half also visited bowling centers, followed by single location arcades, cineplex entertainment facilities, retail and restaurants, trampoline parks and roller skating venues.

Charts courtesy of LAI Games.

Music & Games