Sales of Grand Theft Auto V have pushed the games market back into growth for the first time in five years with Tesco and Asda benefiting most from the release, says Kantar Wordpanel.
Tesco was the biggest winner and took over a third of all money spent on the title during the two weeks after its release. In an online deal that proved too tempting for some bargain hunters, the supermarket giant offered GTA V and £22 worth of shopping for £43.
Tesco and Asda are the two fastest growing retailers in the entertainment sector and claim second and third place with 17.1 per cent and 12.1 per cent of the market respectively.
Beleaguered retailer HMV has lost 7.4 percentage points since last year, with the majority of its former shoppers going to its three larger rivals.
GTA V, which is the fastest selling video game of all-time, has helped the games market grow by an impressive 29 per cent compared with the same period last year.
The GTA series have shifted 150m copies since it began in 1997.
Fiona Keenan, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, said it would be interesting to see if the success of the supermarkets in the games sector continues this Christmas with the release of PS4 and Xbox One.
“Game and Amazon are leading the way in pre-orders so far, and we expect specialist gaming retailers to do particularly well in the run up to launch as consumers look for help and advice.”
Amazon, which was recently voted most trusted retailer, has maintained its position as the top retailer in Britain with a fifth of the market, increasing its share in music, video and games this year.
