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As coronavirus sweeps the country and sends millions sheltering in place, Americans are increasingly spending their time, and money, on jigsaw puzzles.
The majority of the U.S. population is now under stay-at-home instructions, and businesses across the country are sending employees home. In the face of what health officials warn could be months of widespread closures, consumers are snapping up the time-tested indoor games, depleting inventories and driving up prices.
Gamemaker Ravensburger has seen U.S. puzzle sales soar 370% year over year in the past two weeks, according to the company’s North America CEO Filip Francke.
Francke said the company hasn’t seen anything like this before in its 136-year history. In 2019, the company sold a total of 21 million puzzles globally, and recorded an average rate of seven puzzles a minute sold in North America. Factoring in the recent surge, the company is averaging closer to 20 puzzles…
