An Analysis of Customer Preferences for eSports Merchandise

This report delves into customer preferences concerning eSports merchandise, examining the motivations behind consumer choices in this rapidly growing market. It begins with an introduction to eSports and its merchandise, highlighting the industry's expansion and the increasing demand for digital and physical products. The background of the study focuses on the role of companies like Riot Games, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer preferences to drive sales and enhance brand loyalty. The literature review explores marketing strategies, STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning) analysis, and the influence of various factors on consumer behavior, including marketing campaigns, economic situations, personal preferences, and group influences. The research methodology outlines the objectives, approach, and design of the study, including the selection of sampling methods, data collection processes, and ethical considerations. The report aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of customer preferences in the eSports merchandise market, offering valuable insights for businesses and marketers in this dynamic sector. The research focuses on Riot Games Inc. and the factors that drive consumer interest and merchandise sales, considering the shift from traditional to digital markets and the impact of eSports on consumer spending and behavior. The report's findings are expected to offer insights into customer preferences, marketing strategies, and the overall growth of the eSports industry.

Running head: CUSTOMER PREFERENCES OF ESPORTS MERCHANDISE
Customer preferences of esports merchandise
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Background of the Study.................................................................................................................4
Rationale of the Study.....................................................................................................................5
Literature Review............................................................................................................................7
Introduction......................................................................................................................................7
Marketing strategies and marketing mixes of eSports Merchandize Company:...........................10
Product:......................................................................................................................................11
Pricing:.......................................................................................................................................12
Place:..........................................................................................................................................12
Promotion:.................................................................................................................................13
STP of eSportsMerchandize Company:.........................................................................................13
Research Methodology..................................................................................................................14
Introduction....................................................................................................................................14
Research Objectives.......................................................................................................................15
Method Outline..............................................................................................................................15
Research Philosophy......................................................................................................................16
Research Approach........................................................................................................................16
Research Design............................................................................................................................16

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Research Strategy..........................................................................................................................17
Selection of Sampling Methods and Sample size..........................................................................17
Data Collection Process.................................................................................................................17
Data Analysis Technique...............................................................................................................17
Research Population......................................................................................................................18
Sampling Method and Sampling Size............................................................................................18
Ethical Considerations...................................................................................................................18
Summary........................................................................................................................................19
References......................................................................................................................................20
Appendix........................................................................................................................................22

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Introduction
E-Sports, also known as electronic sports consists of competitive video gaming or
professional gaming as a part of competition in the video game sector. It is in the form of video
game competitions involving several players, especially those who are in the professional levels.
The common form of video game categories are related to real- time strategies (RTS), first-
person shooter (FPS), fighting and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). The types of
tournaments involved in eSports are The International, The League of Legends World
Championship, the Evolution Championship Series, the Intel Extreme Masters and others pave
the way for broadcasting the competition live and also provide reward to the participants (Wu
and Li 2018).
A systematic approach of online and offline competitions have always been a tradition in
the video game industry. Initially the competition was held among the novice players, however,
later it got transformed to professional level where the competition takes place among the skilled
players of eSports. Apart from that, the audience and spectatorship for the sports has also
increased rapidly. Therefore there are many game developers who intend to make money by
designing a perfect environment for eSports. The popularity of the video game industry has
provided opportunity for the increase in sale of the merchandise. eSports merchandise is an
integral part of the eSports sector and the customer preference needs to be considered in this
respect (Gainsbury, Abarbanel and Blaszczynski 2017).
Background of the Study
The individuals involved in the designing, creating and selling of eSports are current
days, some of the passionate gamers in the world. In the current days, the game developers have
got the scope to increase their income through the digital products. The reason behind this is that

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the market of eSports merchandise is increasing due to customers’ inclination towards these
kinds of products. The market for digital products is valued at $37B and digital purchase is
responsible for increasing a lot of revenue (Hamari and Sjöblom 2017).
However, the customer preference towards the eSports merchandise is the area of
research for this particular paper. As there is a lack of tangible connection in eSports therefore
the players sometimes lose the feeling of commitment. Often they are only purchased for the
sake of consuming as a part of daily activities. There are instances of customers investing $1- $5
in digital gaming products which is passing the benefits to the game developing companies to
release $50 + products in the market (Ozuem, Borrelli and Lancaster 2017). The preference of
the customers towards these products and the reason behind it will be discussed in this research
paper.
This research paper will look for the popularity of the eSports merchandise among the
customers and their opinion about the same. There will be an outline of the previous researches
carried out in this subject and the methods used for gathering opinion from the research
participants. The customer preference plays a major role in this research and therefore surveys
will be conducted to know their opinion about the eSports merchandise andtheir preference about
the same. For thisparticular research, Riot Games Inc will be focused to fulfill the objectives of
research problem.
Rationale of the Study
Riot Games is an American company which excels in the development and publishing of
video games and organizing tournaments for the participants. The company is headquartered at
the western part of Los Angeles in California. Apart from USA, they have offices located in

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Tokyo, Berlin, Taipei, Dublin, Sydney, Seoul, Hong Kong, Moscow and other places. This
company was popular for initiating the League of the Legends on 27 October 2009 in Europe and
North America. They have also created a free game for mobile devices, Blitzcrank’sPoro
Roundup which is supported in Android and iOS. The company is indulged in the competition of
League of the Legends World Championship and Championship series for Europe and North
America (Funk 2017).
As a background to this research topic, the Riot Games Inc was focused along with the
functions carried out by it to gather information about customer preference of eSports
merchandise. The first game which was introduced by this company used a model of free- to-
play to support the smaller transactions instead of the advertisements or boxed copy sales. The
merchandise sale of the company was highlighted to know about its market preference among
the customers. They had started their business initially with a funding of US$7 million as
sponsored by the Benchmark Capital and first mark Capital. Moreover they have got a second
funding from Tencent holdings (Foutz 2017).
In this research paper it will be discussed that the Riot Games Inc. made use of the
funding to build up a wonderful gaming arena for the eSports fans. It will be found out from the
survey that what were the reason behind pulling a whole lot of consumers towards this vibrant
sector and the factors that led to the sale of merchandise. The previous literature will help in
finding out if the popularity remained same from the initial days of video games introduction. It
will be gathered from the survey if the trend in inclination towards eSports is new and what are
the factors responsible for it. It will also be found out through this research that why the
customers are developing certain liking for the eSports merchandise and how Riot games became
successful in the industry (Chao 2017).

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The concrete experience of the customers and the increasing revenue in the industry are
gaining momentum. The reason behind this is that the digital market is consuming a greater
value of $13B. In this case the instance of Angry Bird eSports merchandise can be considered
where the particular company Rovio has got an increase of 40% of the entire $200 million
revenue. Gradually the industry is boosting with more number of competitors and players
involving in eSports and the companies are getting the scope to become easily available in the
market. Therefore, the emergence of physical merchandise cannot be regarded only as comeback
(Alopaeus 2016).
Literature Review
Introduction
Along with the recognition for the need of studying eSports in modern day’s interactive
digital communication, the study has explored various motivational factors, which affect
consumers’ preferences over eSports Merchandise. The most competitive form of video gaming,
eSports is the growing industry which is being preferred by millions of viewers and active
players all across the world. According to Wu and Li (2018), it is being seen as the digital sport,
instead of an ordinary element and it has much resemblance with the traditional sports. However,
with the possibility of targeting, marketing, communicating and selling supplements to the digital
athletics, eSports have managed to win the hearts of its target consumers.
As per Gainsbury, Abarbanel, B. and Blaszczynski (2017) opinion, gamers have some
existing needs and demands, which can only be fulfilled by the consumption of the dietary
supplements. The potential market size is being combined with the positive attitudes or behaviors
and the identified needs or demands towards the eSports products or merchandises, giving

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evidence of the significant market gaps and opportunities to be explored by other brands. In the
words of Hamari and Sjöblo (2017), the brands and organizations need to develop some
strategies and address the consumers by targeting with the right gaming tactic, using the eSports
channels.
eSports offers its customers with a wide range of apparels, starting from eSports games
tees to official clan teams like Envy, Virtus Pro, CLG, fnatic, SK Gaming, NiP and Cloud9.Font-
i-Furnols and Guerrero (2014) stated that the behaviors of the target audiences consuming the
products of eSports tend to provide a marginal significance. This provides the marketers with the
specific chance of fulfilling their strategic goals and increased market shares and purchasing
behavior among the consumers. In addition to this, Wu and Li (2018) classified the consumer
behavior or changing preferences into decisions as well as actions, which influence their
purchasing or buying pattern.
It is important to take into consideration, the factors that drive the consumers to choose a
particular product or service, in respect to others. Majority of the selection procedure involved
while purchasing an item is based upon reasoning and emotions. The same factor impacts upon
the consumers who tend to buy eSports merchandises or products, over others. As per Hosany
and Martin (2012), studying the buying patterns of the consumers not only help the marketers to
understand their changing preferences, but also helps them in gaining an understanding regarding
the future.
In the words of Godey et al. (2016), there are several factors pertaining to the attitudes,
priorities or tendencies of the individuals and thus, they must be given importance in order to
gain an understanding of the consumers’ purchasing patterns or behaviors. Firstly, marketing
campaigns play an immensely important role in influencing the decisions that are being made by

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the consumers. It can be said that the marketing campaigns of eSports are unique, which caters to
the most number of audiences and they end up buying those products or merchandises.
Moreover, the marketing campaigns hold by eSports Company are known to bring
around a great shift to the market shares among the competitive industries. This is done by
influencing the buying or purchasing patterns of the consumers. Toufaily, Ricard and Perrien
(2013) stated that the marketing campaigns that are done on a regular basis have the potential of
influencing the purchasing decisions of the consumers, to such an extent that they end up opting
that brand over others. Therefore, it can be said that the marketing campaigns or amount of
branding done by the eSports Company has enabled the consumers trust that brand over the other
ones.
According to Hosany and Martin (2012), marketing campaigns should be undertaken on
regular intervals as it helps in reminding the consumers to shop from that particular brand. In
addition to this, there are other factors as well, which impacts upon the consumers’ decisions of
purchasing a particular product or service. The spending decisions of the consumers are also
known to be hugely influenced by their economic situation that prevails within the market.
However, eSports Company has managed to offer its consumers with all range of products that
can be easily afforded. Therefore, consumers tend to prefer this particular brand over others, as
there is a loyalty factor as well.
In addition to these factors, Madzharov, Block and Morrin (2015) mentioned that at the
personal level, the consumers’ behavior or attitude is most likely to get influenced by several
shades of priorities, values, morals, likes or say, dislikes. At certain dynamic industries like
sports, fashion, personal care and others, the opinions and personal views of the consumers
matter a lot and these factors tend to become the most dominant influencing factors. However,

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the advertisements help in influencing these factors to a large extent and the personal likings and
disliking exert huge influence over the end purchase made by the consumers.
Group influences is also considered to be a major factor that affect the decisions of the
consumers. Similarly, Gainsbury, Abarbanel and Blaszczynski (2017) stated that the primary
group which influences the consumer consists of the family members, relatives and classmates.
Moreover, the secondary group consists of the neighbors, acquaintances and others, who have
greater influence over the consumers’ buying decisions. Same is the case of eSports Company.
The company is largely popular and accepted by its target consumers, who have direct power
over influencing other consumers into changing their preferences and buying eSports
merchandises.
Madzharov, Block and Morrin(2015) mentioned that purchasing power of the consumers play a
major role in influencing the consumers’ behavior or attitude. The customers analyze their
buying capacity beforehand and buy the products, accordingly. It can be said that eSports not
only offers its consumers with excellent products or services, but it also meet the purchasing
abilities of the buyers and thus, have huge impact over its sales. Segmenting the consumers on
the basis of their buying capacity will enable the eSports Company in determining its eligible
customers in order to achieve great results, further.
Marketing strategies and marketing mixes of eSports Merchandize Company:
The international eSports Merchandize companies use powerful marketing strategies to
market their goods using their formidable marketing mixes. Rauschnabel et al. (2016) mention
that eSpoprt merchandize companies market their products by promoting them online on the
various digital platforms like YouTube and Facebook. They collaborate with ecommerce

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companies like Google to advertise their brands, often in association with specific sports teams.
The eSports merchandize companies advertise their products with great detailing to customers
who visit their products online which creates the feel of store shopping. Ertimur and Coskuner-
Balli (2015) opine that these companies offer discounts which are exclusively crafted to satisfy
the sports fans who purchase products online. According to Dessart, Veloutsou and Morgan-
Thomas (2015) these strategies of the eSports merchandize companies enable them to create a
loyal base of consumers who prefer their purchase their products irrespective of the sports teams
they sponsor. This analysis makes it pertinent to explore the marketing mixes of the eSports
merchandize selling companies which enable them to create a large consumer base which enable
to generate immense revenue.
Product:
The products of the eSports companies consist of sports goods, sportswear and sports
accessories. AS per Neven(2014), the sports goods consist of commodities like football, rackets
and bats. Sportswear consists of T-shirts, shirts, shoes, socks, boxers and tracksuits. The
accessories comprise of gloves, bands and caps. These products bear the brand name of the
eSports companies marketing them. These companies emphasize on creating customers
satisfaction by offering high quality products bearing their brand names. According to Suand
Tong (2015), this strategy helps them to obtain a loyal consumer base which is separate from the
consumer base of the sports teams. The sports companies sponsor a variety of sports events
which enable them to offer their products at these events to both their loyal group of buyers and
the loyal group of buyers of the sports teams.

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Pricing:
Parganas, Anagnostopoulos and Chadwick (2015) echo and opine that the success of the
eSports companies lies to a great deal on appropriate pricing. The eSports companies use both
economic pricing and premium pricing to market their products. They adopt more aggressive
strategies to market their products online to their base of loyal customers. They online shoppers
can avail discounts and free gifts on ordering products online. According to Hing et al. (2017),
pricing strategies of the eSports companies are essentially promotional tools. These companies
offer certain free gifts on purchase beyond a benchmark amount. Moreover, sports events allow
these companies to sell their products online to both their supporters and those of the sports
teams. Thus, one can infer that appropriate pricing of the sports companies enable them to
generate immense revenue from selling their products online.
Place:
The eSports companies sell their products online to their consumers. According to
Doloto,and Chen-Burger (2015), ESports companies have business models which cater to the
needs of the online business. These companies have strategically designed websites which are
aligned to the business requirements. These websites enable consumers to viewers to get a
detailed view of the product line as pointed out by Neven(2014). The websites allow online
shoppers to view the characteristics of the products which create trust in them about the quality
of the products and the brand power of the marketer. The websites enable buyers to shop
products individually and in bundles. These websites are designed to shows prices and offers
both for single product units and bundles. Guo et al. (2018) mentions that social website
platforms have also emerged as powerful platforms to promote products. This analysis shows