Today has seen Amazon depose HMV to become the UK's biggest seller of music, video and games for the first time.

Figures compiled by market research firm Kantar Worldpanel showed that, for the 12 weeks leading up to Christmas Day, Amazon's share of sales of the three product lines was 22.4 per cent – up by three percentage points over the same time three months earlier.

Meanwhile, HMV, the biggest high street entertainment retailer, saw its market share fall from 19.6 per cent to 17.5 per cent, with it losing ground in both the video and music sectors.

Fiona Keenan, Kantar Worldpanel's consumer insight director, said Amazon had reached top spot thanks to a number of factors: "It is typically really competitive on price, has a wide range of products with no restriction on display space, and is known for its very good customer service," she said.

Overall spending on entertainment fell by just under four per cent year-on-year – but this was still half the rate of decline seen in the run-up to Christmas 2010.



Article Added: 07/02/2012 14:57:00