26January 2015
Amazon is Christmas winner as online hits new high
The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel, for the 12 weeks ending 21December, shows that Amazon took one in every four pounds spent on physical music, games and video in Britain during the run up to Christmas this year. The retailer was boosted by another rise in online shopping which now accounts for a record 39% of all transactions in the sector.
Fiona Keenan, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, explains: “Amazon performed exceptionally well this Christmas and for the first time ever captured more than a quarter of Britain’s physical entertainment market. Its performance was aided by the increasing popularity of online retail which accounted for 39% of entertainment spending in the run up to Christmas – its highest ever level – growing by 3% year-on-year.
“While consumers' average online spend increased by 6% this Christmas, they still spent less than they did when shopping in physical stores as retailers struggled to get them to shop impulsively online. A third of in-store purchases were bought purely on impulse, creating an additional £119 million for the industry, but when shopping online this proportion halved. Retailers need to identify ways to encourage impulse purchasing in an online environment, particularly as so much of our spend goes through this channel.”
Sector specialist HMV claimed 13.9% of entertainment sales in the final quarter of 2014, up from 13.4% a year before, making it Britain’s third largest retailer behind Amazon and Tesco. These results show an improvement for HMV, and the relaunch of its transactional site in the coming months could help improve its position further. People who shopped at HMV went on to spend £220 million atrival retailers’ online stores this year – money it could have been taking directly had a website been operational. The store benefitted from a resilient physical music market which held its value relative to last year, despite declines across the wider entertainment market. Physical music was helped by the success of British artists whoclaimed the top five artist albums in the final quarter of the year.
Supermarkets generally found the Christmas period tough. The exception was Tesco, which took 14.7% of sales and maintained its position as the second largest retailer of physical entertainment products. Tesco was particularly successful with the big titles, taking 28% of Frozensales and 21% of FIFA 15– the two top gifts in video and games respectively. The other grocers lost share year-on-year with Morrisons slipping back by 0.4 percentage points to 2.1% and Sainsbury’s down 0.6 percentage points to 6.0%. Asda fared worst with its market share falling from 12.9% to 9.5% of sales. It had a particularly strong end to 2013, benefitting from strong sales of GTAV, but was unable to replicate this success in 2014.
Argos increased its market share to 4.4%, performing particularly well in the sales of new PS4 and Xbox One games. It was also a stronger Christmas for smaller retailers – such as Zavvi and WHSmith – and independents which increased their share of the market this year from 9.6% to 11.4%.
ENDS
Kantar Worldpanel Entertainment*Retailer Barometer - Spend Share %
12 w/e 22 Dec 13 / 12 w/e 21 Dec 14 / Percentage point change
Amazon / 24.8 / 25.6 / +0.8
Tesco / 14.6 / 14.7 / +0.1
HMV / 13.4 / 13.9 / +0.5
Game group / 9.4 / 10.8 / +1.4
Asda / 12.9 / 9.5 / -3.4
Sainsbury's / 6.6 / 6.0 / -0.6
Argos / 3.8 / 4.4 / +0.6
Morrisons / 2.5 / 2.1 / -0.4
Play / 2.4 / 1.6 / -0.8
Other / 9.6 / 11.4 / 1.8
* Includes physical sales of videos, games and music.
Please note: Kantar Worldpanel entertainment barometer data has been reworked for 2015 to remove sales of pre-owned music, video and games from our measure of the market.As such, the entertainment barometer figures published from 26 January 2015 are not directly comparable to data previously reported. Please contact Peter Rogers or Alyona Levitin, Camargue, on 0207 636 7366 with any questions.
About Kantar Worldpanel’s Entertainment Retail Barometer
The Kantar Worldpanel Entertainment Retail Barometer is based on Kantar Worldpanel data for the 12 weeks to 21December2014. 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.
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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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