UK jigsaw puzzle sales reach £100 million per year, with e-commerce platforms becoming the main driving force

It is reported that despite the bleak economic development in the UK in January, home isolation has led people to turn to different forms of entertainment, driving the hot development of the game market. Among them, the sales of jigsaw games in the UK surged by 48% in 2020 .

Jigsaw puzzle sales in the UK hit £100m in 2020

The report said that sales of jigsaw puzzles in the UK reached £100 million in 2020, with the best-selling format priced at around £12. Surprisingly, the boom in the market was driven by adults rather than children, with adults in the UK buying a total of 15 million jigsaw puzzles in 2020.

German toymaker Ravensburger said its sales grew by more than a fifth in 2020, with the fastest growth in the UK, and its sales of jigsaw puzzles increased by a third, totaling 28 million, compared with 2019. A North American jigsaw puzzle manufacturer saw sales increase by 370% over the same period last year , and the number of Google searches increased by more than 600%.

“ Click & Collect ” drives online order growth

Research by market analysis agency NPD shows that "providing online ordering services" is crucial for retailers during the lockdown. As retailers adjust and maximize omnichannel sales, British people began buying toys online in 2020, driving annual sales in the UK toy market to £3.3 billion, a 5% increase compared to 2019.

Professionals analyzed that " people are prone to anxiety during the epidemic, which often drives them to look for comfortable images, especially puzzles depicting comfortable pastoral life and animals." On the other hand, after seeing the rapid development of the market, toy retailers began to pay attention to strong supply chains and sales channels, such as online sales and Click & Collect models, which quickly promoted the development of the e-commerce market.

Data shows that the total size of the UK toy market in 2020 was US$4.4 billion, of which the e-commerce size was as high as US$1.3 billion. The online toy market accounted for 10.6% of the UK e-commerce market, and its sales accounted for 6.07% of the UK's overall e-commerce market.

Frédérique Tutt, global industry analyst at NPD Group, said that when the epidemic situation improves and cinemas reopen, blockbuster movies will once again drive toy sales. From this point of view, the online toy market in the UK, especially jigsaw puzzles, is still very attractive for cross-border sellers.

Cross-border e-commerce market

U.K.

Game puzzle