The lockdown has sparked a surge in online retail purchases of games, from table tennis to airhockey. Games retailer Liberty Games has seen a year on year increase of 350% since the start of the Coronavirus lockdown in the UK.
Whilst some families are starting to venture out of the house since restrictions have lifted, others have invested their money in other ways to keep the family entertained.
• Table tennis tables saw a huge increase in sales, up 600% year on year in the first three weeks of April. • Multigames tables were the second most popular product and saw a 550% increase in year on year sales, whilst pool tables were up 340%. • Table football (280%) and air hockey (250%) both saw more than a 200% increase in their year on year sales.
Jamie Stanford, Managing Director at Liberty Games said: “We have seen a huge demand for indoor and outdoor games over the past few months, which we are humbled to see as it brings a heartwarming thought that friends and families are spending time together, by playing games, having fun and making memories.”
Stanford continued: “It came as quite a shock to see such huge increases in sales, we were working round the clock to ensure we could get products out to people as quickly as possible.”
Overall, demand for games room products was around four times higher than the average level. During the month of March, transactions were over 80% higher in 24 hours, than previous years figures. Usually, Liberty Games would see around 80 transactions each day, however during the start of lockdown they were selling more than 400 in a 24 hour period.
The team of 13 alongside Raffy, the office dog, worked incredibly hard to make sure orders were sorted and shipped, to keep their customers happy during lockdown.
Some products seemed to be more popular than others, Jamie said: “We sold out of darts boards pretty quickly, they seem to have been a bit of a lockdown trend.”
Table tennis tables saw a huge increase in sales, up 600% year on year in the first three weeks of April, whilst mulitames tables saw a 550% increase. Pool tables were up 340% and table football (280%) and air hockey (250%) both saw more than a 200% increase in their year on year sales.
The company was seeing a week’s worth of sales in one day, which was a continuous trend throughout the lockdown. But sales don’t seem to have slowed down just yet.
Jamie said: “Sales have not slowed since, we are still seeing people buying pool tables, table tennis tables and foosball tables, which we are really excited about, knowing that people are enjoying their time at home using our products.”
Investing in a games room product is something that many families are seeing as an alternative entertainment to going out to shops or restaurants which have now started to open.
Jamie said: “With many indoor and outdoor activities still currently off-limits due to the pandemic, families are tackling boredom through sports games such as table tennis, snooker and darts. It’s great to see these sports and games becoming more popular and welcomed by all ages, bringing all generations together.”
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