HMV overtakes Amazon in fight for dwindling DVD and Blu-ray sales
The decline of DVDs and Blu-rays has allowed HMV to overtake Amazon to be the biggest seller of physical films in the country.
HMV has fared well with new releases such as Beauty and the Beast and Logan to take its market share of physical video sales up six points to 22.5 per cent. Amazon’s market share was steady at 20.2 per cent in the past three months, according to Kantar.
The market for films on disks has already been eclipsed by online services. Streamed video generated £1.3bn in sales last year, overtaking physical DVD and Blu-ray sales for the first time as they fell 17 per cent to £943m, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association. Both are dwarfed by games, which took in almost £3bn.
Read more: Blast from the past: HMV overtakes Amazon
The boom in video games has helped lift quarterly sales of physical entertainment by 2.2 per cent, the first increase since August 2014.
Quarterly sales of games rose 26 per cent, offsetting falls of 5.4 per cent in music and 4.8 per cent in video as more consumers turn to online versions and streaming services, Kantar said.
Blockbuster games including Destiny and the latest Zelda game have hit the shelves this year, giving a boost to the sector ahead of the Christmas rush.
“Early signs are promising, with 850,000 consumers looking to pick up either the Nintendo Switch or Xbox One X in the run up to the festive season,” said Olivia Moore, analyst at Kantar Worldpanel.