Port Washington, N.Y. — According to a study from market research firm The NPD Group, 88 percent of consumer home-entertainment dollars goes toward DVD and Blu-ray Disc purchases and rentals.
A consumer tracking study in NPD’s March 2009 update to its “Entertainment Trends In America” indicated that U.S. consumers spent an average of $25 per month on various forms of home entertainment. The bulk of that at 63 percent was directed at DVD purchases; 7 percent was spent on Blu-ray Disc purchases; and 18 percent went to DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals from retail stores, subscription services such as Netflix.
Video-on-demand (VOD) accounted for 9 percent, and 3 percent was spent on digital downloads and online streaming.
As for recent viewing patterns, according to NPD, 9 percent of consumers with home Internet connections streamed movies online in the past three months, up from just 5 percent last year, while 8 percent rented a digital movie download.
Movie downloads watched through game consoles attracted fewer than 5 percent of consumers, NPD said.
As many as 80 percent of those who downloaded digital movies said they also purchased or rented a DVD, compared with just 50 percent the general population, while 25 percent bought or rented a Blu-ray disc vs. 5 percent overall.
“Discs are still and by far the dominant way Americans enjoy home video, but there is an increasing appetite for digital options,” stated Russ Crupnick, NPD entertainment industry analyst. “The good news is that the consumers engaging with digital video today also tend to be heavy consumers of DVDs and Blu-ray Disc, but it remains to be seen just how long physical discs and digital formats can co-exist.”
The NPD study was conducted online and using more than 11,000 completed responses from U.S. consumers.
