Anthropologie wants a seat at the table — literally. The company is jumping on a rising interest in tabletop games through colorful products that double as decor.Over the last few months, Anthropologie has seen a spike in sales for games like backgammon, mancala and mahjong as consumers seek out tactile, offline experiences. On Anthropologie’s website, views for “board games” are up 19% year over year, while searches for game-related terms are up 12% year over year. Anthropologie is also adding more games to its assortment to meet demand; game SKU count is up 34% year over year.
Anthropologie has carried games for years, although the section was “humming quietly in the background,” said Katherine Finder, the chief merchandising officer of Anthropologie Home, which includes decor, rugs and lighting. It wasn’t until a year ago that Anthropologie started focusing more on games outside of the holidays, as part of a larger effort to diversify its assortment. Anthropologie’s home customers also tend to shop less frequently than apparel customers, so Anthropologie is betting on games to keep that subset of customers coming back.
Today, Anthropologie is growing its games division to be “a higher percentage of the total than it’s been in the past,” Finder told Modern Retail. “It’s become integrated into our strategies, both online and in stores, all year round,” she said. With more shoppers interested in so-called analog activities, Anthropologie also hopes to become “a destination for a really unique curation of games,” Finder added. Games fall under the category of “gifts, books and pet,” and are growing market share within that section.
