Kids account for 24% of industry sales in 1H 2009 - NPD

Yesterday, the NPD Group released its monthly report on US retail sales figures for the gaming industry. Continuing the downward sales trend of the previous five months, overall industry sales slipped 16 percent to $908.7 million in August. According to a new study released by NPD today, one way the industry could go about bucking that sliding sales trend would be to more heavily target the 12-and-under demographic.

Titled "Kids & Cross-Entertainment Behaviors," the NPD's study reveals that kids aged 12 and under accounted for 24 percent of game industry sales during the first half of 2009. Further, the study found that households with kids in the aforementioned age group account for 45 percent of total industry sales. The study notes that 57 percent of kids aged 2 to 12 play games and 62 percent use a computer, meaning there remains significant room for growth within the segment.

"According to the US Census Bureau, there are 53.4 million [kids] ages 12 and under in the US, accounting for 17 percent of the population," NPD analyst Anita Frazier said as part of the study. "Yet for many industries, games included, they account for a much larger portion of total sales."

Frazier went on to note that the "tween" demographic is a particularly exploitable demographic, because 75 percent of the individuals in this age group play games and 81 percent use a computer for tasks unrelated to school.