Amazon Takes Lion S Share of the Entertainment Market

10 November 2014

Amazon takes lion’s share of the entertainment market

The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel, for the 12 weeks ending 28 September, shows that Amazon has continued its strong growth across all areas of the physical music, games and video markets. Its sales are up 4.9%, while its share now stands at an impressive 22.5%.

Fiona Keenan, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “Amazon has continued to push forward and is enjoying its highest ever share since taking 25% of the market in the last quarter of 2013. This success bodes well for its Christmas performance where it will be trying to capture spend from the 18.6 million consumers who will be shopping for entertainment products in the run up to the festive season.”

“Amazon’s success is representative of a general shift towards online shopping within the entertainment sector. Thanks to the rise of connected devices – 71% of individuals now own a smartphone and 57% own a tablet – this is a shift that we expect to continue. Amazon’s range of Fire tablets has given it another platform to promote its offering directly to consumers, and it appears to be working as 15% of entertainment products sold on its site are purchased on a tablet.”

While Amazon surges ahead, the second largest group of British entertainment retailers, the supermarkets, have felt the effect of a quieter year. All of the grocers have lost market share compared with the same period last year, with the effect of their strong sales performance of Grand Theft Auto V in 2013 a key part of this. The supermarkets accounted for 53% of the blockbuster game’s sales and without its success their share of the games market this year has halved.

Fiona continues: “Despite aggressive pricing strategies on this year’s smash hit game, Destiny, the supermarkets have been unable to take back share. Leading video games retailers Amazon and GAME have performed strongly selling 54% of Destiny copies. The supermarkets haven’t also been helped by increased competition from Argos, which has maintained its impressive performance in the video games sector, posting an 8.6% share, pushing it ahead of Asda for the first time ever.” Meanwhile, the DVD and Blu-ray video market is the only physical entertainment market in growth over the past 12 weeks, up 3% despite a decline in volumes sold, thanks to high value new release films such as The LEGO Movie, and popular box sets like Game of Thrones.

Kantar Worldpanel Entertainment* Retailer Barometer - Spend Share %

12 w/e 29 12 w/e 28 PPT Sep 13 Sep 14 Change Amazon 17.6 22.5 +4.9 Tesco 20.6 15.1 -5.5 HMV 12.3 12.3 0.0 Asda 14.4 11.0 -3.4 GAME group 8.1 9.1 +1.0 Sainsbury’s 7.9 7.2 -0.7 Morrisons 3.4 3.2 -0.2 Argos 2.8 3.0 +0.2 Play 2.2 2.5 +0.3 Other 10.7 14.1 +3.4

* Includes physical sales of videos, games and music.

About Kantar Worldpanel’s Entertainment Retail Barometer

The Kantar Worldpanel Entertainment Retail Barometer is based on Kantar Worldpanel data for the 12 weeks to 28 September 2014. The barometer includes physical sales of videos, games and music. Kantar Worldpanel Entertainment is the leading provider of continuous consumer panel research, measuring the film, music and game purchasing trends of 15,000 demographically representative individuals in Great Britain.

All data is based on the value of items being bought by these consumers. Kantar will only support data that is published in the context in which we have presented it and our own interpretation of these findings, other interpretations may not be accurate and we cannot be held responsible for them. About Kantar Worldpanel

Kantar Worldpanel is the world leader in consumer knowledge and insights based on continuous consumer panels. Its High Definition Inspiration™ approach combines market monitoring, advanced analytics and tailored market research solutions that inspire successful actions by its clients.

Kantar Worldpanel’s expertise about what people buy or use – and why – is recognised by brand owners, retailers, market analysts and government organisations globally.

With over 60 years’ experience, a team of 3,500, and services covering 60 countries directly or through partners, Kantar Worldpanel helps brands grow in fields as diverse as FMCG, impulse products, fashion, baby, telecommunications and entertainment, among many others.

For further information, please visit us at www.kantarworldpanel.com. Twitter: Google+: LinkedIn: RSS: Newsletter:

About Kantar Kantar is the data investment management division of WPP and one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups. By connecting the diverse talents of its 12 specialist companies, the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and inspirational insights for the global business community. Its 27,000 employees work across 100 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at every point of the consumer cycle. The group’s services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies.

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