Physical store vs online – Where do consumers prefer to buy video games?

In a new poll, YouGov asked consumers across 18 international markets whether they preferred to buy a range of products online or from a physical store – and, globally, only one in ten would opt to buy video games from a brick-and-mortar shop.

This makes video games the product consumers are least likely to prefer buying from a store - behind groceries (60%), vehicles (52%), clothes (52%), medicines (46%), health and beauty products (31%), electronics (32%), banking services (25%), books (23%), and travel services (14%).

It’s in Asia where people are most likely to prefer a store experience for their game purchase. Nearly a fifth of Hong Kong consumers (17%) prefer buying video games from a brick-and-mortar store, the highest among all markets. With the exception of Singapore (7%), more than one-tenth of Asian consumers prefer buying video games from a physical establishment (11-17%).

In Europe, less than a tenth of consumers prefer purchasing video games from a store. The exceptions are French and Spanish consumers (12% and 10% respectively). Denmark, Britain and Poland have the lowest preference for purchasing video games from physical stores (5% each).

Preferences in the North American markets match those in Asia. More than one in ten consumers say they would rather buy video games from a physical store than online. In comparison to the US (12%) and Canada (11%), Mexicans are marginally more likely to prefer physical stores (13%).

The data suggests an uncertain future for traditional video game vendors. While many shoppers in other categories like to browse before purchase, game-buyers may have the kind of purchase intent which can make the in-store experience altogether less important.

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Methodology

YouGov RealTime Omnibus provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 507 and 2004 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in July 2022. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov RealTime Omnibus.