UK lockdown streaming is driving Brits to make online purchases based on their favourite shows, with up to a 475% increase in interest on certain products, according to data by impartial price and product comparison service, PriceSpy. What this means for you is that you should consider your spend on paid search (both on marketplaces and search engines) with an eye to related items on what the nation are watching.
With Brits spending 40% of their waking hours watching TV, PriceSpy has found that the nation’s favourite shows are influencing buying habits. The launch of Disney + in March had a major impact on Star Wars and Disney branded related items, particularly with the hit series, The Mandalorian.
The eagerly anticipated release of the second series, which has captured the nation’s hearts with Baby Yoda, is having the biggest influence on purchasing habits. PriceSpy found that following the show’s release, toys based on it saw a significant popularity surge, with a 1950% increase in interest on a Lego Mandalorian and child set.
Streaming and lockdowns have also broadened the appeal of board games. Netflix’s The Queens’s Gambit grew to unprecedented popularity in October. This resulted in a 650% popularity increase in chess boards, with Brits eager to test their skills. Despite being gripped by a pandemic, its board game namesake saw a 637.5% year-on-year popularity increase from 2019.
July saw the hit show Mrs America air on the BBC, reviving the 70’s style icons of the feminist movement, such as Gloria Steinem and her signature aviator sunglasses. Consequently, popularity in the glasses went up 7.5% in the weeks after airing.
There were many stand out TV and movie hits in 2020, helping get everyone through the multiple lockdowns, keeping everyone talking and, as PriceSpy demonstrates, buying.
Data provided by PriceSpy revealed that the key times where access to TV shows coincided increases in related items popularity are:
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|---|---|---|---|
| The Mandalorian series 2 2nd October |
LEGO Star Wars 75292 The Mandalorian Bounty Hunter Transport | October – December | 202.3% |
| Mandalorian series 2 2nd October |
LEGO Star Wars 75317 The Mandalorian & the Child | October – December | 1950% |
| The Mandalorian series 2 2nd October |
Lego Star Wars 75243 Slave I | October – December | 399.2% |
| Queen’s Gambit 23rd October |
Regency Chess European School Chess Set | September – December | 650% |
| Disney + release 24th March |
LEGO Disney 43172 Elsa’s Magical Ice Palace | March – April | 100% |
| Disney + release 24th March |
LEGO Disney 41167 Arendelle Castle Village | March – April | 100% |
| Mrs America 9th July |
Ray Ban Aviator | June – August | 7.5% |
| The pandemic | Pandemic Board Game | 2020 vs 2019 | 637.5% |
“As lockdowns confined us indoors, streaming TV shows has been a go-to way for Brits to pass the time. What we watch is having a significant impact on what we buy, from shopping for toys related to the Mandalorian series, to many taking up chess after the sensation of The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix.
Those shopping for these on-trend items should make sure they still shop smart. It’s crucial that shoppers know they don’t have to take the first price they see. There are hundreds of online retailers delivering during lockdown. Spending 10 minutes comparing on a price comparison site could save households hundreds of pounds.”
– Ossie Bayram, UK commercial director, PriceSpy
