Total digital sales of music, video and games in the UK increased by 11.4 percent in 2012 to pass £1bn for the first time, a new report has revealed.
According to statistics from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), total digital entertainment sales reached £1.033bn, while sales of music in the same format rose by 15.1 percent to hit £383.3m.
The popularity of digital among consumers may have increased but combined total sales of music, video and games fell by 12 percent to £4.21bn.
Further findings revealed that physical sales of CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray and video-games still account for just over three quarters of the entertainment market.
Kim Bayley, ERA Director General, said: ‘Breaching the £1bn barrier is an incredible achievement for the UK's digital entertainment retailers and reflects their huge investment in new and innovative services which means you can buy music, video and games literally at any time of the day and wherever you are.
‘At the same time I suspect that many people will be surprised to learn just how resilient the physical business still is - with three quarters of entertainment sales still on disc. Downloads offer convenience and portability, but people still seem to value the quality and tangibility of a physical product.’
ERA is the trade association for entertainment retailers and uses data from the Official Charts Company data, GfK Chart-Track and IHS Screen Digest to compile its report.
According to statistics from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), total digital entertainment sales reached £1.033bn, while sales of music in the same format rose by 15.1 percent to hit £383.3m.
The popularity of digital among consumers may have increased but combined total sales of music, video and games fell by 12 percent to £4.21bn.
Further findings revealed that physical sales of CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray and video-games still account for just over three quarters of the entertainment market.
Kim Bayley, ERA Director General, said: ‘Breaching the £1bn barrier is an incredible achievement for the UK's digital entertainment retailers and reflects their huge investment in new and innovative services which means you can buy music, video and games literally at any time of the day and wherever you are.
‘At the same time I suspect that many people will be surprised to learn just how resilient the physical business still is - with three quarters of entertainment sales still on disc. Downloads offer convenience and portability, but people still seem to value the quality and tangibility of a physical product.’
ERA is the trade association for entertainment retailers and uses data from the Official Charts Company data, GfK Chart-Track and IHS Screen Digest to compile its report.
