Amazon Is Now UK’s Top Entertainment Retailer With 22% Market Share
There was a time when a trip to a UK shopping centre to pick up a CD or DVD led you right through the doors of HMV, or even one of Branson’s Virgin Stores. But that was before online merchants like Amazon made it more convenient to get these items. HMV stores still exist on the High Street; it’s just that now, Amazon is kicking their butts.
According to a recent report released by research company Kantar Worldpanel, Amazon now controls over 22% market share of UK entertainment sales. This dominance includes not just CDs and DVDs, but games and other such entertainment items. As at December 26, 2011, Amazon market share dwarfed HMV’s 17.5% market share, a stark decline from its 19.6% market share recorded on December 26, 2010.
This gradual decline has led to a staggering £36 million in losses and many are predicting that the former entertainment retail giant will eventually have to start closing many of the 249 retails stores that are still opened on the High Street. The rise of Amazon e-tailing success in the UK has been attributed to how the online giant handles customer care. According to Fiona Keenan, Consumer Insight Director at Kantar Worldpanel, “Amazon’s strong performance is down 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.”
Amazon clearly knows how to shift entertainment items; perhaps it might help HMV to take a few pages from its books.
(Source: sitetrail.com)
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