NPD Claims Pokemon GO Release Resulted In Portable Battery Sales Surge

by Brandon Hill — Friday, August 05, 2016, 01:47 PM EDT

It seems as though every new generation of smartphone comes to the market with a larger battery (well, unless you’re Apple) to boost battery life or at least hold the line due to the addition of new features (like a larger high-resolution displays, faster processors, etc.). But when your smartphone’s internal battery isn’t enough to handle your demanding power needs, most turn to external battery solutions.

The folks at the NPD Group not only track smartphone and tablet sales, but they also track the sales of these external battery packs. And NPD noticed an interesting trend when comparing the sales of the batteries during the month of July compared to the same period last year. The research firm says that sales of external batteries increased an incredible 101 percent year-over-year for the July 10^th to July 23^th time period.

NPD attributes this spike in sales to the launch of Pokémon GO, which can take a toll on your smartphone’s battery (Pokémon GO launched July 6^th). And given the extreme dedication that some gamers have exuded when it comes to chasing Pikachus, it should come as no surprise that they would do everything in their power to allow the fun to last as long as possible.

“Demand for portable power packs has been strong this year, with unit sales increasing 35 percent year-over-year for the 12 months ending June 2016. More recently, though, sales growth for the devices has slowed,” said NPD’s Megan Scott. “However, in the two weeks since the game launched, sales of portable power packs reached nearly 1.2 million units, representing a marked increase in sales growth.”

But how long will this surge in battery sales last? The world’s fascination with Pokémon GO can’t last forever… or can it?

Tags: NPD, pokemon-go

NPD Claims Pokemon GO Release Resulted In Portable Battery Sales Surge

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