Pokémon Go's Surprising Effect on Shopping

Pokémon may not be the most fashionable reference, but thanks to the wildfire popularity of Nintendo's new Pokémon Go app, the '90s franchise is now aligned with some of your favorite stores. The app, explained in full on Vox.com, has brought the card game to life by placing users in the position of Pokémon trainers tasked with catching and training as many of the fictional creatures as possible. But rather than resigning you to your smartphone, players are required to explore the real world (gasp!) in order to, well, catch 'em all.

As Racked pointed out, the game has transformed not just local landmarks into so-called Pokémon Gyms and PokéStops (the former for training, the latter for replenishing your Poké Balls, natch) but businesses, too. Some especially Poké-heavy spots include mall-favorite stores like Forever 21, Sephora, and H&M, giving the local shopping centers a welcome customer boost. But it seems that nowhere is off-limits in the world of Pokémon Go, with stores ranging from Bloomingdale's to the resale store Beacon's Closet reporting a Poké-presence.

Brands seem torn over whether or not this is a good thing, but as Jason Evangelho writes for Forbes, the game has the potential to be a real boon for business. Sure, not everyone who stops in to catch a creature will also buy something, but it certainly increases the likelihood of a purchase. After all, that Krabby users are after could be resting atop the perfect pair of jeans or an off-the-shoulder top they didn't know they needed until he drew them to it.

The game does run the risk of crowding stores, but it also brings with it free advertising (see: endless social media posts) and heightened attention on your brand. That and it's lighthearted and fun, a perfect match for shopping itself (and one that's especially appreciated given the state of the world in recent weeks).

What other stores have you caught Pokémon in? Let us know in the comments, and shop our favorite phone cases to catch 'em all in style!

Up Next: A Feel-Good Lip Balm Created in Her Dorm

Photo Credit Jennifer S. Altman for The New York Times

Name Zoe Mesnik-Greene

Age 23

Hometown Seattle

Now Lives Splits her time between an on-campus apartment at the University of Washington in Seattle and her cousin's two-bedroom apartment in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

Claim to Fame Ms. Mesnik-Greene is the founder of Lasting Smiles, an eco-friendly lip-balm company that raises funds for cleft-palate lip surgery for children in developing countries. She started the company in 2013, as a 19-year-old sophomore at Washington. "I was perusing the inte rnet in my dorm room, and I saw a video about children born with cleft conditions," she said. "I was so moved by the issue, I must have watched the video 10 times. I wanted to help, and that's when it dawned on me: the connection between cleft lips and lip care."

Big Break She developed her lip-balm formula in her dorm room with the help of YouTube tutorials, experimenting with fair-trade shea butter and coconut oil. "That's the beauty of the internet: It levels the playing field," she said. "I did set off the smoke alarm a few times, though." She approached a buyer at Whole Foods at a farming event in Seattle, pitching her on the spot, and soon Whole Foods began carrying her line.

Latest Project Target started carrying Lasting Smiles in its 1,800 stores in March. "I connected with someone at Target on LinkedIn," she said. "The next thing you know, I was flying across the country for a 30-minute meeting with their buyer." Lasting Smiles donates 25 percent of its proceeds to cleft-palate surgeries in Peru, India and Burkina Faso, and has funded 200 operations to date.

Next Thing Ms. Mesnik-Greene is excited for her final year at Washington, where she studies environmental sciences and communications. "As long as I graduate in the next year, I'm good," she said. "I'm taking a little time off right now, for sanity purposes, because this is more than a full-time job."

Highflier Before she became a lip-care entrepreneur, s he was a junior Olympic gymnast and pole-vaulter. "When I was 1½, my mom found me on top of the refrigerator," she said, laughing. "I grew up falling, getting back up and doing things a million times until perfection."

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