Supermarkets sweep into digital content

Supermarkets are already key players when it comes to selling ‘physical' books, movies and music.  Now they are increasingly moving into the online entertainment space.  Two news stories this week highlight the digital content strategies of the big supermarkets as they jockey for position in what is a growing market for 'non-physical' content.As part of its strategy to become ‘a key player in the digital entertainment market', the supermarket Sainsbury has announced it has bought HMV's stake in the digital book retailer and social network Anobii, meaning it now owns 64% of the business.Anobii enables its 600,000 users to research and read ebooks on a range of devices.   It is the social media element of the service which Sainsbury believes differentiates Anobii from other ebook retailers such as Amazon and Apple.Meanwhile, Tesco has announced it is buying the music streaming service We7 which offers personalised online radio services to subscribers.  Tesco already has a stake in the movie/TV streaming service Blinkbox.  It offers streaming services to its Clubcard members, part of a growing trend of offering ‘merged' physical and digital' content to customers.