More than £1bn was spent on downloaded films, music
and games in 2012, the highest annual total.
Sales increased
11.4% from 2011, meaning that a quarter of the entertainment market is now digital.
But figures
released later by entertainment retailers will also show a big drop in physical
sales - more bad news for high street shops.
Sales of CDs,
DVDs, Blu-ray and video games fell by 17.6% in 2011 although they still make up
most of the market.
Kim Bayley,
director general of the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), which will
release the figures, said that breaking the £1bn barrier was an
"incredible achievement" for retailers.
"This
reflects their huge investment in new and innovative services - which means you
can buy music, video and games literally at any time of the day and wherever
you are.
"At the
same time I suspect that many people will be surprised to learn just how
resilient the physical business still is - with three-quarters of entertainment
sales still on disc.
"Downloads
offer convenience and portability, but people still seem to value the quality
and tangibility of a physical product."
More than half
of the digital sales went on video games, which grew 8% to £552m.
Films and music
had a smaller share of the digital market but sharper growth - downloaded films
up by 20% and , music by 15%.
BBC technology
correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said: "The entertainment industry has been
struggling to adapt to the digital age.
"And while
consumers are now paying for downloads, that's not making up for the rapid fall
in high street sales."
Sales of video
games in shops were particularly badly hit, with retailers blaming a lack of
compelling new titles, he added.
Digital sales, 2012
Music £383m (up 15.1% on 2011)
Films/video £98m (20.3%)
Video games £552m (7.7%)
Total: £1,033m (11.4%)
Source: BBC
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