In the autumn the price of a National Lottery ticket will double in price from £1 to £2. With the Lottery playing an important role in driving footfall into c-stores, will the increase be a good thing for local retailers, or will the impact hurt sales?
Omar Nasir
Spar retailer
I suspect less people will play the National Lottery when it goes up. We’re expecting more sales from the Health Lottery. My customers have already been complaining about the price rise, but they don’t seem aware that the prize amounts have gone up too. When the Euromillions went up from £1.50 to £2 it needed a couple of big rollovers to get it going again – the same thing is likely to happen here. Some customers even think the price has already gone up and aren’t buying a ticket until I explain.
Stephen Carr
Nisa retailer
I suspect it can only be a good thing in the long run. When you consider that it’s been almost 20 years since it first launched you need to remember how much inflation goes up in that time; a pound isn’t worth what it was in 1994 and I don’t think £10 for three balls offers much of an incentive anymore. Putting the prizes up is bound to increase demand and I can definitely see our customers being happy to spend £2 for a reasonable chance of winning £25 for three balls or £100 for matching four.
Saleem Sadiq
Spar retailer
When I first read about it we thought it would upset sales, but then I began to think about scratchcards. They started at a pound, then Camelot introduced £2 ones which sold well, and now they can cost £5 or £10. We sell as many £10 cards as any others so I don’t honestly think it will make much difference. The good thing is that it will hopefully put more money in our tills, though I feel sorry for customers who are having to spend more. It’s not gone up in price for 18 years though, so it was inevitable.
Walter Bryson
Londis retailer
I think it could hold people back for a while, but ultimately unit sales will hold up. It might be a 100% increase in the price, which does sound like a lot, but I don’t believe it will stop people buying tickets because they still like to take the chance of winning something, and that’s even more evident when times are difficult, as they are at the moment. Look at the cost of cigarettes for example – they’re £7 a packet when they were £4 not so long ago, I don’t think that increase has led to a considerable drop in sales.
