Physical entertainment market falls by 17%

The retail market for physical entertainment declined by 17.4% during the 12 weeks to 7 April, attributed to a decline in shopper numbers, fewer major gaming and music releases and store closures for HMV.

The research by Kantar showed that physical stores grew their share of the gaming market for the first time since 2016, holding 55.9% of the market. Online retailers saw their market share fall to 44.1%, down from 47.1% for the same period last year.

Artist websites and concert venue stalls are two of the few resilient physical music markets, with the pair accounting for 7.3%, a rise from 4.7% this time last year.

Giulia Barresi, consumer specialist at Kantar said: “After a slow first quarter as shoppers took stock after Christmas, developers and retailers must now reposition and look to promote something extra beyond the obvious benefits physical formats can offer. Now more than ever the market needs to be creative and offer consumers something they can’t get from newer media – and this has started to show.”

Barresi added: “Artist websites and concert venues now account for 7.3% of the market, up from 4.7% this time last year. As shoppers don’t need to buy an album to listen to it anymore, they are willing to splash out on the music they actually want to keep and the artists they want to support.

“The power of social media allows artists with smaller and more dedicated followings to link their marketing directly to their personal sales arms. For high street retailers, stocking additional merchandise to tie in to big releases may be a way to encourage shoppers to purchase them outright rather than listening to major hits through streaming services.”