Switch prompts online traffic boost for US retailers

The launch of the Nintendo Switch earlier this month saw all major US retailers enjoy a boost to their online traffic.

VentureBeat reports that data from analyst SimilarWeb shows that both GameStop and Toys R Us saw monthly traffic peaks on the day Switch launched – March 3rd. Traffic from Nintendo.com also had a measurable year-on-year impact on sites such as Amazon and Toys R Us.

The site also pushed referral traffic to GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart and Target.

Looking at Amazon in isolation, Nintendo.com sent 1.4m clicks Amazon’s way in the month leading up to Switch’s launch. The boost for the Toys R Us website was big, too, with February traffic up 813 per cent over January.

Looking at overall web activity, GameStop grabbed over three per cent of all search traffic for the term ‘Switch’ in the launch run-up, although again Toys R Us, Best Buy, Walmart and Target all enjoyed similar bumps.

March 3rd itself was also a big day for Nintendo.com, although the numbers weren’t able to match the frenzy that followed the Switch’s official video reveal in January. Neither of these were able to measure up to the traffic generated by launch of smartphone title Miitomo, either, which generated 1.7m visitors to the platform holder’s official site. Switch launch day, meanwhile, attracted just under 1m.

Analyst SuperData yesterday said that it believes Nintendo sold 1.5 Switch consoles worldwide.

The number was calculated by adding together the estimated 500k US sales, 360k Japanese sales and data from across Europe. Switch sold around 80k in the UK, for instance, and an estimated 110k in France.

Nintendo had previously said that it aimed to sell 2m Switch consoles by the end of the month – a number it looks to have a good chance of now hitting.

The big driver is the critical smash that is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which SuperData says was purchased by 89 per cent of Switch owners. That of course means nearly 1.35m sales for the game on Switch alone, to which sales on Wii U must be added.