By Rob Stott

Quick! What comes to mind when you hear the word eSports?

If you’re like most of the “outsiders,” you likely paint a picture of someone sitting in bed (or his parents’ basement) munching on a bag of Doritos with a funny looking headset on, lights off, sitting inches away from his computer monitor.

That image would not be entirely false, but it’s a gross underrepresentation of an industry that is booming, has broad appeal, and could come to define the future of consumer electronics retailing.

Let’s forget about the retail side of things for a second, though, and focus only on the market itself. Who (or what?) is an eSports athlete? How much money is floating around in sponsorship dollars, prize pools, and more? Is the eSports industry really big enough for you, the retailer, to care about?

A good place to start is getting a solid understanding around what eSports actually is.

“Esports (electronic sports) is professional computer gaming,” the World eSports Association (WESA) said in an interview with Dealerscope. “Athletes from around the world participate in online and offline tournaments against each other. The games are broadcast and streamed in numerous languages, allowing fans all over the globe to follow the action live on a regular basis.”

Click here to read the full article on dealerscope.com