Last year saw the highest level of growth in the music, video and gaming market ever to occur in the UK, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).

Retail spending in the three areas increased by 18.3% to a record £9.3 billion, which marked the eighth successive year of growth for the sector.

Last year’s growth is the largest annual rise the UK market has ever seen and was mostly driven by streaming, the ERA said in a statement.

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The music, video and gaming market has grown by 38% since 2016, according to the ERA (Joe Giddens/PA)

The increase in spending came as people were stuck at home for long periods due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Videogame spending rose by 17.6% compared with the figure for 2019, while the figures for video (25.6%) and music (6.8%) also rose.

The music, video and gaming market has grown by 38% since 2016, according to the ERA.

ERA chief executive 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.”