The number of shoppers who buy music and DVD products regularly has fallen for the fourth year in a row, according to Verdict Research.

Sales have been hit by an increase in illegal downloading, a lack of inspiring releases in the past year and competition for shoppers’ spend from the computer games sector.

The percentage of shoppers who buy music regularly has fallen from 48.8 per cent to 43.2 per cent this year. Over the past 12 months, people aged between 15 and 24 bought less music than previously but affluent AB1 shoppers visited record stores more.

However, entertainment retailers have been able to increase their market share over the past year, following the collapse of retailers such as MusicZone, MVC, Fopp and Andy’s Records.

HMV’s share now stands at about 25 per cent – more than double that of Tesco, which takes second place.

Amazon, in third place, has benefited from higher broadband penetration in UK homes and an increasing acceptance by shoppers to buy products online. Asda’s share declined over the course of last year.

Verdict said: “As Asda focuses on other areas such as games and big-ticket electricals, to drive profits and sales densities, it is the only retailer to lose visitors compared with the year before.”

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