Merrion Centre catches all the shoppers thanks to Pokemon Go

Mon 08 Aug, 2016

Hordes of Pokémon hunters have been swarming to the Merrion Centre over the past month, due to a number of PokéStops being situated in the shopping mall.
The Leeds-based Merrion Centre saw a 9.4% increase in footfall to 812,766 shoppers throughout July and is attributing the rise due to an obsession with the geo-targeting mobile app. Pokémon Go sees users walk around in the real world and hunt virtual creatures, in order to ‘catch them all’.
There are three PokéStops in the Merrion Centre; one at the Sing Kee Oriental Supermarket & Bubble Tea on Woodhouse Lane, one in MFA Bowl just off Merrion Street and another on the corner of Merrion Street and Wade Lane. There is also a PokéGym in the adjacent First Direct Arena.
Jason Ho, manager at Sing Kee, said: “It’s been crazy here since the app launched in the UK earlier this month. We’ve seen loads of people walking through the doors with their faces almost glued to their screens.
“Many of the staff enjoy playing the game so the team has been known to join in when Pokémon hunters come in, but we’ve also found a way to capitalise on the trend by putting down ‘Lure modules’ at random intervals. ‘Lure modules’ attract more Pokémons to the area and so are a great way of both keeping customers in store, in order to encourage purchase, and attracting new customers.”
Helen Green, Associate Director at Town Centre Securities said: “Even 50 years on from our initial launch the Merrion Centre is still on trend with the latest crazes and ensuring that it is innovative and caters for all ages and tastes.
“We saw a significant increase in footfall in July, and we hope that new customers coming to Merrion due to the popularity of the game enjoy the fantastic retail, food and leisure offer we have at the Merrion Centre and in the Arena Quarter.”