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 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.
As restaurants, shops and cinemas were forced to close their doors in the past year, “stay-at-home Britons spent a record amount on music, videos and gaming”, Sky News reports.
According to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), spending in the sector increased by 18.3% in 2020 - the “highest recorded growth rate the UK market has ever seen”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
The ERA data revealed that the fastest growing digital sector last year was video, “where sales soared by 37.7% to £2.9bn, driven mainly by the growth of subscription services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video”, says Sky News.
However, gaming remains the biggest single sector, “accounting for 48% of aggregate sales, followed by video (35%) and music (17%)”.
Spending on gaming was up by 17.7% compared with 2019 and sales of video console games increased by 7.7% to £638.5m, driven by the launches of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series.
ERA chief executive Kim Bayley said: “The entertainment market was already growing without coronavirus, but with much of the leisure sector shuttered due to lockdown, music, video and games were in the right place at the right time.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Furniture just for gamers
The increase in at-home gaming has also contributed to the growth of esports as professional-level players, teams and tournaments continue to attract huge fanbases.
Last year the global esport market was valued at $950m (£681m) and it’s predicted to reach $1.6bn (£1.14bn) by 2023. With more than 2.5 billion gamers around the world and global revenues expected to increase by 68% in the next two years, retailers are looking to “cash in on this trend”, Yahoo Finance reports.
Swedish company Ikea has announced details of its new gaming furniture range produced in collaboration with Republic of Gamers. Launched in China at the end of January, the range will go on sale globally from October and will target PC gamers. It will include products such as gaming chairs, desks, drawers units, lights and blankets.
Ewa Rychert, global business leader of workspace at Ikea, said: “The needs of billions of gamers around the globe are very diverse, whereas the existing offer is rather technical and often perceived as masculine design-wise, despite around 46% of gamers being female. We believe there’s a lot to be done to democratise the gaming experience.
“Now we take the first step on our gaming journey, and we do it by presenting affordable, high-performing gaming products and complete solutions that we hope reflect people’s personality and taste.”
Retailers want a slice of the esport pie
Earlier this week, Aldi was confirmed as the official supplier of the Prime League, a League of Legends competition in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The partnership will launch Aldi Gaming, which will “promote the esports and gaming scene in Germany”, the supermarket chain said.
Meanwhile, supermarket rival Lidl has also recently agreed a deal to become the fresh food partner of German esports organisation SK Gaming.
Industry publication Esports Insider said: “It seems like a natural progression to see more non-endemic brands enter the esports space, especially companies that offer everyday needs. Esports fans need food, insurance, and bank accounts just like everyone else.”
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.
-
DOJ seeks breakup of Google, Chrome
Speed Read The Justice Department aims to force Google to sell off Chrome and make other changes to rectify its illegal search monopoly
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What can Elon Musk's cost-cutting task force actually cut?
Talking Points A $2 trillion goal. And big obstacles in the way.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Her Lotus Year: Paul French's new biography sets lurid rumours straight
The Week Recommends Wallis Simpson's year in China is less scandalous, but 'more interesting' than previously thought
By The Week UK Published
-
Microsoft cleared by UK watchdog to buy 'Call of Duty' maker
Speed Reads Watchdog finally approves $69bn deal but criticises tech giant for its tactics
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Britishvolt: how Britain’s bright battery hope was zapped
feature Battery-making startup’s demise ‘has thrown up tales of reckless spending’ and incompetence
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sam Bankman-Fried: the arrest of the disgraced crypto crusader
feature The founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX was arrested on Monday
By The Week Staff Published
-
The UK’s migration ‘surge’ examined
feature 1.1 million people migrated to the UK last year, according to the latest ONS data
By The Week Published
-
Why UK companies are facing a dystopian, zero-growth future
feature In prioritising stability, the Treasury risks ‘stifling enterprise and entrepreneurship’
By The Week Staff Published
-
UK builders: drawing a line under the cladding crisis?
feature Michael Gove’s threat to builders may be paying off
By The Week Staff Published
-
Travel is back: is the UK aviation industry ready for the big take-off?
feature After two years of chaos caused by Covid-19, airports and airlines are now hit by a staffing crisis
By Mike Starling Published
-
National Lottery operating licence: and the winner is…
feature Camelot has ‘outlasted five prime ministers’, but following a hotly contested bidding process, it has finally been toppled
By The Week Staff Published