Amazon has leaped ahead of rival entertainment retailers to take a quarter of sales of physical video games, films and music in the UK, according to the latest entertainment industry data.
Research from Kantar Worldpanel found that Amazon took one in every four pounds, or 25.6%, spent on entertainment goods during the run up to Christmas last year, up 0.8% from the same period last year.
"Amazon performed exceptionally well this Christmas and for the first time ever captured more than a quarter of Britain’s physical entertainment market," Kantar Worldpanel’s strategic insight director Fiona Keenan said.
"Its performance was aided by the increasing popularity of online retail which accounted for 39% of entertainment spending in the run up to Christmas – its highest ever level – growing by 3% year-on-year."
The second largest holder was Tesco, as sales rose 0.1% to 14.7% in the three months to 22 December, driven by increased demand for Disney’s Frozen and FIFA 15.
HMV came in third place, holding 13.9% of the entertainment market, but lost £220m to rival retailers’ for not having an operational website.
Keenan added: "While consumers’ average online spend increased by 6% this Christmas, they still spent less than they did when shopping in physical stores as retailers struggled to get them to shop impulsively online."
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"A third of in-store purchases were bought purely on impulse, creating an additional £119m for the industry, but when shopping online this proportion halved. Retailers need to identify ways to encourage impulse purchasing in an online environment, particularly as so much of our spend goes through this channel."
