Ikea and Aldi plug into gaming and esports market in lockdown boom

Lidl also looking to get a cut of the action amid record spending by world’s 2.5 billion gamers

The 2018 TwitchCon esports event in California
Gamers compete at the annual TwitchCon esports event in California in 2018
(Image credit: Robert Reiners/Getty Images)

The gaming industry has won hordes of new customers during Covid lockdowns, and retailers are looking at ways of cashing in on the boom in player numbers and product sales.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More

Mike Starling is the former digital features editor at The Week. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon.