Digital video sales rocketed by 40% in 2013 as entertainment retail market finally turns around
Digital video sales rocketed by 40 per cent in 2013, new figures show.
Figures: There has been steep growth in digital sales
Preliminary year-end figures from the Entertainment Retail Association show that digital video sales from services such as iTunes, Netflix, Lovefilm and Blinkbox, grew by a substantial 40.2 per cent in 2013 to reach £621.4m.
Overall, the entertainment retail market has improved for the first time in five years, with market value increasing by four per cent to £5.4bn in 2013 compared to £5.1bn in 2012.
Industry experts believe the improvement can be attributed to fast-growing digital services such as Spotify, Netflix and Steam and say investment into new technologies in the sector is paying off.
“This is a stunning result after at least five years of decline,” said ERA director general Kim Bayley.
“Retailers have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in new digital services and these numbers suggest the public is responding in their droves.
“New technologies have historically presented challenges to the entertainment business, but these results show how our members are helping music, video and games companies find new markets.”
While videogame sales in the UK increased by 6.6 per cent overall in 2013 and video grew by 3.7 per cent, music sales fell by 0.5 per cent.
However, music sales did increase on streaming platforms like Spotify and Deezer, increasing by 33.7 per cent to £103m.
“The big picture growth story in entertainment is clearly digital, but the success of Blu-ray and – most astonishingly – vinyl demonstrates that physical formats can still flourish when they are able to offer something distinctive.”
Videogames increased its lead as entertainment’s biggest sector, accounting for 41.4 per cent of total entertainment sales.
While the market saw massive growth in digital in 2013, physical disc-based sales still account for more than half of the market with 56 per cent of sales in 2013.