COVID-19: impact on weekly unit sales growth of UK gaming VR market 2020

In week 12 of 2020 (15.03-21.03), the gaming virtual reality (VR) market in the United Kingdom had experienced 18 percent year-on-year (YoY) unit growth as compared to the same week in 2019 (17.03-23.03). Week 11 of 2020 saw the gaming VR market in the UK grow by 108 percent when compared to week 10, followed by 42 percent unit growth in week 12. As the source suggests, significant growth has been observed within the PC head-mounted display (HMD) market.

More game time from staying at home

    In line with the increases in VR gaming in the United Kingdom, consumers also reported increases in their consumption of gaming consoles and smart TV/media streaming services as a result of more time at home due to the coronavirus outbreak. On a global scale, total increases in the sales of video games is estimated to have increased by 63 percent, suggesting that many people have turned to video gaming to keep them entertained through the crisis.

Slow growth in global AR/VR shipments

   Despite the increases in worldwide video gaming consumption, shipments of augmented reality (AR) and VR headsets are forecast to experience a year-over-year decline of 10.5 percent in the first quarter of 2020, followed by a further decline in the second quarter. In line with this, the global wearables market is expected to grow by roughly nine percent in 2020, compared to the almost 90 percent growth rate achieved in the previous year.