The pandemic that has gripped the world for more than a year has forced people to look for new entertainment. As they move more and more into the virtual space, the largest manufacturers of graphics cards cannot keep up with the growing demand, and game consoles have gained more interest. In Lithuania, the demand for the latter goods has also grown significantly, so those who want to upgrade their computer game equipment may have to search hard for the necessary parts.
Topo centro's communication project manager Žilvinas Kulvinskis admits that the demand for video cards has increased, and the boom in purchases is most likely related to changes in the exchange rate of cryptocurrencies.
Also, according to him, even during the first quarantine, in March, a great interest in Sony Playstation 4 consoles was felt, although it was already known at that time that the new generation of consoles would launch at the end of the year.
"True, the start of sales of the new console was not as smooth as we would like: they were in short supply and are still in short supply all over the world, we formed a virtual queue of tens of thousands of people in the Topo Center alone. While some fans are patiently waiting for the arrival of the new PlayStation 5 addition, others are buying Nintendo Switch consoles or new PlayStation 4 consoles," Eltai commented Ž. Kulvinsky.
According to him, there is also a revival in the TV segment, especially those models that are adapted to the new generation of Xbox and Playstation consoles and allow you to use all their advantages.
"More than 30 percent in 2020 sales of all OLED TVs also grew, as these TVs also support a 100 Hz refresh rate, high resolution and many other parameters that are necessary to enjoy the new generation of consoles at their full 100%. This year, a good adaptation of the device for games already falls among the 3-4 essential parameters in new TVs, and its importance will only grow", said the representative of "Topo centro".
The growth in sales of gaming notebooks and desktops for the whole of 2020 exceeded 50% compared to 2019. Ž. According to Kulvinskis, such success was partly due to the imposed quarantine.
"No one wants to be burdened with devices, and it is gaming computers that allow you to combine both studies or work and entertainment - playing both online and individual games in high definition," he said.
The impact of the pandemic was also very felt for computer work and sciences in the segment.
"Their demand sometimes increased, their lack was felt all over the world, Lithuania was definitely not an exception. The supply of the cheapest computers remains the most difficult, so customers often decide to buy a better, higher-quality computer - this trend is confirmed by the available sales data," Ž admitted. Kulvinska.
Irmantas Viliūnas, head of the marketing department of the trade network "Avitela", says that the sales of video cards grew by about 30 percent.
"The lack of new generation RTX30** boards is especially noticeable. The equipment for games has grown for two reasons - games are becoming more and more popular in the world, children even make friends from all over the world through play spaces at an extremely early age. This broadens their horizons.
Also, since entertainment is very limited during the quarantine, naturally those who haven't played yet also joined. Therefore, computers for games and game consoles are one of the most popular products", I. Viliūnas said to Eltai.
According to him, sales of game consoles grew by about 60% during the first quarantine period, but during the second quarantine, due to the lack of popular products, especially Playstation 5, the growth was not so significant.
"When global demand for PlayStation 5 will be met is not yet clear, as supply dates are still uncertain," he admitted.
According to the representative of "Avitelas", sales of portable gaming computers grew by about 10 percent during the first quarantine period, and by about 35 percent during the second quarantine period.
According to I. Viliūnas, disruptions in the supply of goods were felt in almost all categories of goods from spring to late autumn.
"It was only at the beginning of winter that supply recovered, except for IT equipment, especially with laptops, whose supply is forecast to be problematic until the beginning of summer," he added.
Lukas Blekaitis (ELTA)
