Amazon grabs 22.5% of the entertainment market in Britain

Amazon has left is rivals in the dust to secure in excess of 20% of films, music and non-digital video game sales in the UK.

During the three-month period to the end of September, the online retailer increased its sales by almost 5%, to secure 22.5% of the market in entertainment.  This has increased its lead over its main rival, Tesco, which has seen a 5.5% decline in sales, leaving it with only 15% of the market share.

HMV, on the other hand, was merely able to remain in the market with 12.3% of the entertainment market, although it hopes to pass Amazon and take the top spot as the largest music and film retailer in the UK.
Amazon attributes its success to the shift to online purchasing.  Currently, around 71% of individuals own a smartphone and about 57% own a tablet, and Amazon is expecting these figures to increase.  Its Fire tablet range has offered an additional promotional platform as around 15% of entertainment products on its site are bought on a tablet.

In comparison to the same period in the previous year, all the supermarkets appear to have lost a share of the market.  They have lost out on not having a blockbuster music album or game this year after their super sales during the launch of Grand Theft Auto V during 2013.  The supermarkets were responsible for 53% of the sales of the game, however their share in the market has decline drastically this year.

The only non-digital entertainment market to experience growth was film, and this has affected HMV negatively.  Blu-ray and DVD sales increased by 3% due to the release of TV box sets like Game of Thrones and The Lego Movie.