Digital sales deal blow to GAME and other high street music, DVD and gaming retailers

The physical entertainment market for music, videos and gaming suffered a brutal hit over the crucial Christmas period, dealing a sharp blow to retailers like GAME, according to data out Monday. Figures on the physical entertainment market from Kantar Worldpanel show that the sales of music, video and gaming in the three months to 18 December slipped 7.8 per cent. Music and video sales both witnessed double digit declines, with sales falling by 11 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, while gaming was down by 2.7 per cent. "The increasing popularity of digital entertainment products is making it ever more difficult for retailers to maintain the relevance and excitement of giving physical entertainment products as gifts, and it's not been an easy Christmas as a result," said Fiona Keenan, a director at Kantar. She said that over one million fewer shoppers purchased physical music or video as gifts in the quarter, equating to around £31 million lost.