Pokémon Go and the fortunes of local businesses

According to Les Affaires, a study partly authored by Desautels Professor Warut Khern-am-nuai looks at whether or not the augmented reality game Pokémon Go affects local businesses.

The study looked at restaurants within 40 metres of PokéStops (spots where people could catch the game characters). The researchers found that attendance at these restaurants was up by almost five per cent compared to other nearby eateries, with mid-range restaurants enjoying the best increases.

This is partly because the characters or treasures at a PokéStop refresh every five minutes, so some players sit and wait for the target to appear again in order to capture it a second, third, or fourth time.

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