2020 Holiday Video Game Report

2020 HOLIDAY

The 2020 Holiday shopping season continues to generate some astonishing statistics, not to mention fun and games, as well as the occasional surprise.

Given the pre-sale hype of PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox series S and X in September 2020 and their ofﬁcial November release dates, the unexpected mid-December release of new games such as Among Us, and increased general demand for at-home entertainment attributed to the pandemic, our newest holiday report focuses on gaming consoles, the #1 growth item online from October to November 2020. +1425%* VIDEO GAME CONSOLES *MoM Growth Oct. to Nov. 2020 according to 1010data eCommerce data

While PS5 predictably came out on top, surprisingly Xbox (series S and X combined) did not take 2nd place. Instead, Nintendo Switch, which originally debuted in early 2017, and Nintendo Switch Lite, which debuted in 2019, had combined sales from September to November 2020 that were more than double total Xbox sales. That could explain the surprise release of new games—they’re both Switch products.

Search, and You Will Buy PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series? Our data showed that PlayStation 5 steadily received far greater search trafﬁc than did the Xbox series, leading to more than a doubling in sales over its competitor by November 2020.

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER

2x greater search traffic than Xbox 3x greater search traffic than Xbox 5.5x greater search traffic than Xbox

2x pre-sale sales vs. Xbox 1.5x greater sales vs. PS5 Nearly 2.5X greater sales vs. Xbox

Source: 1010data Market Intelligence search & eCommerce sales data November 2020

But What Did They Buy? Search Trafﬁc Insights

Search traffic for the Xbox series has yet to gain momentum since its launch, but interestingly enough, search traffic grew month-to month from September to November 2020 for Nintendo Switch, which nearly doubled its traffic in November from September.

From March to October 2020, total Nintendo Switch online sales averaged $70.6 million per month. April was a particularly great month for the Switch at $105 million, likely thanks to stimulus checks and the pandemic lockdown. Total sales for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite* doubled year-over-year from the full 2019 year compared to the 11-month period from January through November 2020.

As shown below, our data shows that people searching the term ‘PlayStation 5’ also went on to buy accessories, starting with the giant television, as well as competitor’s products. Meanwhile, the underperforming Xbox series quickly led to the purchase of PlayStation 5, and smaller tech accessories.

PS5 Search Terms Lead to the Purchase of…

Wireless PS5 Gaming Nintendo Xbox PS5 70” TV PS5 Games Controllers Accessories Switch Series X

Xbox Series Search Terms Lead to the Purchase of… PS5 Xbox Series S Xbox Series X PS5 Apple Watch Xbox Accessories

Source: 1010data Market Intelligence search data November 2020 *Nintendo Lite launched July 2019

Getting a Jump on Nintendo Switch In the chart below we see Playstation 5’s leapfrogging rise alongside the strong, steady uphill growth of Nintendo Switch, whose advances in October showed up its two competitors’.

2020 Sales by Month % 242 for the Xbox Series, PlayStation 5 & Nintendo Switch Nov. 2020 vs Nov. 2019 Growth or Video Game Consoles $296.2M Xbox Series PS5 Nintendo Switch

$245.2M

$119.5M $111.3M $84.5M $61.1M $56M

$6.6M $4.2M

September October November PS5 & Xbox New Series Announced PS5 & Xbox New Series Released

Source: 1010data Market Intelligence eCommerce sales data, September-November 2020

© Copyright 2020 1010data Services LLC. All rights reserved. Where Did People Buy Their Gaming Consoles? There were some surprises here, too. While Walmart not unexpectedly took ﬁrst place selling game consoles, Kohl’s took second place as a primary retailer in the sales of PlayStation 5… while Amazon didn’t participate largely in the sales of the PlayStation 5 or the Xbox Series

2020 Year-Over-Year Sales Growth Rate PS5, Xbox, & Nintendo Switch Growth by Retailer

600%

500%

400%

300%

200%

100%

0% walmart.com kohls.com costco.com target.com amazon.com amazon.com walmart.com samsclub.com market direct BOPIS*

Source: 1010data Market Intelligence YoY spend increases by retailers analyzed from Dec. 2018 - Nov. 2019 vs. Dec. 2019 - Nov. 2020 *Buy Online Pick-up In Store

2020 Retailer Share of Sales by Console Type

49% walmart.com 35% walmart.com 38% amazon.com direct 25% target.com 29% kohls.com 23% walmart.com 18% costco.com 22% target.com 20% target.com % 5 amazon.com 7% amazon.com direct 9% amazon.com direct market 2% samsclub.com 6% costco.com 4% walmart.com 1% amazon.com BOPIS market 1% samsclub.com 3% costco.com 2% kohls.com

Source: 1010data Market Intelligence eCommerce spend by video console type from Jan,-Nov. 2020 % for retailers analyzed - Walmart, Kohls, Amazon, Target, Costco, and Sam's Club 1 samsclub.com

Even with a decades-long cult following, gaming has undoubtedly risen supreme in the long, isolated months of pandemic quarantining and lockdown. Consumers waited seven long years for a new iteration of the ultra-popular PlayStation 4, and rewarded smart retailers for their supply chain foresight. The thing about gaming that makes it irresistible to so many is the surprise factor, and in fact, looking at the data from this season’s holiday sales, we can see that several surprises accompanied these new products all the way to their users’ living rooms or basements. Retailers who got a jump on preorders and planned well despite Covid-19 were able to convert their efforts into stellar sales.

For more than 20 years, 1010data has helped ﬁnancial, retail and consumer goods customers monitor shifts in consumer demand and market conditions and rapidly respond with highly targeted strategies. The 1010data Insights Platform combines market intelligence, data management, granular enterprise analytics, and collaboration capabilities to empower better business outcomes. More than 900 of the world’s foremost companies partner with 1010data to power smarter decisions. To learn more, visit 1010data.com