Less Than Half of GameStop's Customers Know They Can Trade In Games

Video game retailers have for many years offered trade-in programs to incentivize people to shop at their stores. The policies have been controversial, but the ability to sell back used games is valuable for many consumers.

But surprisingly, a significant majority of customers have never even heard of video game trade-ins. "Believe it or not, only 40 percent of the people who walk into a GameStop store today know that we accept trades of games," GameStop president Tony Bartel said in an interview with VentureBeat

This is an area of potential growth for the company, then, since 100 percent of profits from the sale of used games goes directly to GameStop. In fact, a good portion of the company's total revenue came from used games--about $1.2 billion per year. For the company to grow this number, it's going to have to expose trade-ins to more people, something that Bartel acknowledges: "What we're constantly trying to do is create awareness. We'll continue to do that. The Power Up Rewards [program] is a powerful tool for us to drive awareness of our trade program. You'll see it in our stores. You'll see it in interactions with our store associates. We're on a constant quest to inform the public that there’s a residual value for your games."

At the same time, GameStop has been capitalizing on the growth of the digital games market even in its physical stores. Last week, GameStop revealed that most of its digital sales (via season passes, credit codes, etc.) came from brick-and-mortar locations.

The company is also seeking to get involved earlier in game development to further its preorder bonus program, but its CEO promised that it would not meddle with the creative process.

Do you trade in old games at GameStop? Let us know in the comments.