Amazon now accounts for 22.5% of UK entertainment market

Fiona Keenan

Amazon now accounts for 22.5% of the UK entertainment market, with its share up year-on-year in the 12 weeks ending September 28, according to stats by Kantar Worldpanel.

Last year Amazon had 17.6% of the market and the e-retailer widened its gap over its closest rival Tesco, which saw its marketshare fall from 20.6 for the same 12-week period in 2013 to 15.1% this year.

Asda and Morrisons also saw their share of the entertainment market slip year-on-year to 11% and 3.2% respectively, with Kantar noting that “supermarkets, have felt the effect of a quieter year.”

Second place HMV saw its entertainment market share remain steady at 12.3%.

“Amazon’s success is representative of a general shift towards online shopping within the entertainment sector,” said Fiona Keenan, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel.

“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.

“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.”