This Christmas, my wife surprised me with a shiny, new iPad.
And I wasn’t the only person here at Grocer Towers to find an Apple in my stocking rather than a satsuma; I know of two members of staff who also received iPads, while others already own a tablet of some form.
Ten days of iPad ownership has shown me how convenient both the tablet format and digital media is. I barely moved from the sofa over Christmas but was able to purchase and instantly enjoy books, videogames, movies and music.
While digital media is by no means confined to tablets, ownership of an iPad - and the fact so many colleagues have recently acquired similar devices - hammered home the significance of the announcement that digital entertainment downloads broke the £1bn barrier in 2012. Digital media sales grew across the board last year, while every physical entertainment media - music, DVD/Bluray, and games - declined.
Many will be asking what future - if any - physical entertainment media has, particularly in supermarkets where every inch of shelf space must pay its way.
The Entertainment Retailers Association is fairly upbeat about physical media - pointing out that it still counts for three-quarters of Britain’s £4.2bn entertainment market. “Many will be surprised to learn just how resilient the physical business still is,” said director general Kim Bayley. “Downloads offer convenience and portability, but people still seem to value the quality and tangibility of a physical product.”
Tesco’s recent trial of the Discs on Demand in-store CD and DVD burning system suggests it has faith in the physical, although such a system could potentially allow it to dramatically reduce the size of its music and video fixture.
But Tesco, along with Sainsbury’s, has also embraced the digital format. It offers video through the Blinkbox system it acquired it acquired in 2010, and last year bought the We7 digital music service. Sainsbury’s, meanwhile, has licensed US business Rovi Corporation to provide video services, and acquired online entertainment company Global Media Vault in 2011.
This leaves Asda and Morrisons looking a little behind the times, although Asda is reported to be looking at its options, which include adopting the Vudu video service acquired by Walmart in 2010.
And it shouldn’t take too long about it. Physical media will be around for a while, but anyone serious about entertainment retailing in the longer term can’t afford to live in the past.
No comments yet