MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. The Russians, who were forced to work and study at home due to the outbreak of coronavirus, started to buy more gaming computer equipment and generally spend more time playing computer games, representatives of retail outlets told TASS.
According to a representative of the M. Video Eldorado electronics and household appliances trading group, in the first months of 2020, sales of game consoles and games showed growth within 10% year-on-year, and over the past week, demand has been growing at double-digit rates. The demand for video games soared by 50%. The retailer attributes this to the release of a sequel of the legendary shooter DOOM Eternal.
In turn, the Citylink online store, observes an increase in demand for items that can fall into the category of remote work and gaming, said Oleg Pchelnikov, the company’s procurement director. Sales of laptops show the highest growth - over the past two weeks, the sales soared threefold in comparison with the same period last year.
Over the past two weeks, sales of computers increased by 56%, while sales gaming consoles and joysticks grew by 26%.
"Due to the transition to remote work, people are buying more laptop models in the price segment from 18,000 rubles ($229) to 25,000 rubles ($319). People buy models at a price of more than 40,000 rubles ($510) for distance learning and personal purposes. These laptops have powerful components, high quality properties, which makes them perfect for modern computer games," Pchelnikov explained.
According to Maria Zaikina, Deputy General Director for Industry Relations at the Ozon online store, the company marks a threefold rise in demand for the sale of subscriptions to games and online cinemas.