Tesco and Asda have made a killing from the launch of violent video game Grand Theft Auto V.
Tesco’s share of the entertainment market (music, video and games) has soared from 11.9% in the 12 weeks to 30 September last year to 17.1% over the same period this year, according to Kantar Worldpanel data. Asda’s share has grown 2.3 percentage points year-on-year to 12.1%,while share at Sainsbury’s and Morrisons has been roughly static, at 6.9% and 2.9% respectively.
Grand Theft Auto V had given retailers and the overall market a much-needed boost, said Kantar, and had pushed the games category into growth for the first time in five years.
“The games market has grown by an impressive 29% compared with the same period last year,” said Kantar strategic insight director Fiona Keenan. “Tesco has been the big winner of the release of Grand Theft Auto V, collecting over a third of all money spent on the title during the two weeks after its release. Asda and Game also benefitted, both growing their shares compared with last year.”
Tesco, Asda and number-one UK entertainment retailer Amazon have also all gained from the 7.4 percentage point drop in HMV’s market share to 10.6%.
“It will be interesting to see if the success of the supermarkets in the games sector continues this Christmas with the release of PS4 and Xbox One,” added Keenan. “Game and Amazon are leading the way in pre-orders so far, and we expect specialist gaming retailers to do particularly well in the run-up to launch as consumers look for help and advice.”
Supermarkets have also performed well in the video market, taking 81% of total spend on major launches Star Trek Into Darkness and Iron Man 3.
No comments yet