DVD revival as we fall out of love with downloads

YOUNG adults raised on digital downloads are fuelling a boom in sales of books, vinyl records and DVDs.

The trend is partly explained by a desire for a break from the online world but also, ironically, to share ‘shelfies’ – photos of their prized collections – on websites such as Instagram, researchers said yesterday.

They found that among all generations, 52 per cent preferred to buy real books, music CDs and records, DVD films and boxed video games over their digital equivalents.

E-book sales are expected to fall to £337million this year from £339million in 2016, while the figure for real books is set to rise 6 per cent to £1.7billion.

The demand is particularly noticeable among young adults aged 18 to 24 – the so-called ‘phygital generation’ who are happy to mix their physical and digital media.

For example, 83 per cent of those surveyed in this age group had bought an item of physical media in the past year. The research commissioned by eBay found one in four bought a vinyl record, nearly two thirds a book, and just over half a DVD or video game on disc.

Nearly two thirds use physical media to ‘disconnect from the online world’ – although 70 per cent simply like the ‘look and feel’ of items such as books, the study said.

An eBay spokesman said so-called ‘Instagram culture’ – in which online photos are used to advertise someone’s ‘intellectual allegiances and cultural loyalties’ – was fuelling the trend.

‘A quarter of “generation phygital” would buy books to display them, while 17 per cent would buy records to show off on their shelves.

‘Our research reveals that the fundamental appeal of physical media is emotional. We like the way physical media makes us feel.’