Number of High Street games stores drops, but still beats online and supermarkets

Online stores and supermarkets failed to capitalize on mass store closures in the UK last year, as High Street stores emerged as the biggest sellers of physical video games.

The latest figures – released by ERA based on Chart-Track figures – show that the likes of GAME, Argos and HMV accounted for 41 per cent of all boxed games sold, a decline of just 1.5 per cent year-on-year.

Supermarkets increased its market share slightly, from 29.5 per cent in 2012 to 30 per cent last year, while ‘home delivery’ saw its market share increase from 28 per cent to 29 per cent.

It’s a remarkable achievement when you consider the number of games retailers dropped from 6,180 stores in 2012 to 5,590 last year, and these were primarily HMV and Blockbuster stores.

These figures do not include digital sales. And according to IHS estimates, if digital sales were included then all areas of physical retail would have lost market share year-on-year.

ERA and Chart-Track data reveals that, unsurprisingly, specialist and general retailers were the most expensive places to buy games, with an average selling price of 31.04, versus 28.53 for supermarkets and 28.26 for online stores.