The combined music, video and games market grew faster than any other leisure sector in 2020, according to figures revealed by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).

Retail spending increased by 18.3 per cent to a record £9.26bn while the overall leisure sector – everything from hobbies, sport and eating out to holidays abroad – shrunk 29.1 per cent due to the coronavirus lockdown.The final £9.26bn tally for 2020 is £210m larger than preliminary figures first published in January indicated. It marks the eighth successive year of growth for the sector.

ERA CEO Kim Bayley said, “The entertainment market was already growing without coronavirus, but with much of the leisure sector shuttered due to lockdown, music, video and games were in the right place at the right time.”

Drawing on figures from Sheffield Hallam University’s Leisure Industries Centre, the ERA Yearbook records that while “in home” leisure spending of all types grew by 2.3 per cent in 2020 to £77.7bn, “away from home” expenditure including eating out, events and holidays declined 38.6 per cent to £154.1bn.

The headline 18.3 per cent increase in entertainment spending in 2020 was the highest recorded growth rate the UK market has ever seen. Games remains the biggest single sector, accounting for 48 per cent of aggregate sales, followed by video (35 per cent) and music (17 per cent).

Biggest Winners

1. Music, video, games - £9.3bn (+18.3 per cent)

2. Entertainment hardware - £25.7bn (+3.7 per cent)

3. Gambling - £14.9bn (+1.3 per cent)

4. House and garden - £18.7bn (+1.2 per cent)

Biggest Losers

1. Overseas holidays - £21.3bn (-65.8 per cent)

2. UK holidays - £8.9bn (-43.8 per cent)

3. Local entertainment - £6.3bn (-40.8 per cent)

4. Eating out - £37.9bn (-40.2 per cent)