Apple’s iTunes Store is continuing its rise in popularity as it moves up the list of the most popular places for consumers to purchase music. A recent report from market research firm NPD places iTunes in third place among all music retailers.
iTunes rise is even more dramatic when you consider that the report does not just consider online retailers, rather it looks at all retailers including traditional brick and mortar stores.
In third place iTunes captured a 9.8 percent share of total music sales, ahead of Amazon, Target, Borders, Circuit City, Virgin Megastores and others. The only retailers to outpace iTunes are Wal-Mart in first place with 15.8 percent and Best Buy with 13.8 percent.
Physical CD sales still dominate the music scene with 86.2 percent of all sales, but iTunes continued rise clearly shows the popularity of purchasing digital music, which came in at 13.8 percent of total sales.
The figures, which are calculated for the first quarter of 2007, show how iTunes has capitalized on the success of the iPod during the holiday shopping season, according to NPD.