Independent record shops sales soared by 44 per cent in the first half of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012.

According to an analysis of Official Charts Company data by the Entertainment Retailers Association, indies have seen a huge increase in sales, despite an overall decline in the sale of albums over the same period by 1.5 per cent.

The ERA, which represents music retailers in the UK, says that increased sales of vinyl albums – boosted by Record Store Day – is a key factor to the increase. As previously reported, UK vinyl sales were up 78 per cent in the first quarter of 2013. In 2012, vinyl sales across all music genres surged by 15 per cent to 389,000 copies sold, the highest level since 2004.

Although independent record shops only accounted for 3.2 per cent of the total albums sold over the first six months of 2013, 50 per cent of all vinyl album sold were in indies. Around one in seven albums sold in independent record shops are sold on vinyl, while in major retailers and online, only one in 250 albums sold is on LP.

The biggest selling album through independent stores in the first half of 2013 was David Bowie‘s The Next Day. The album is the 15th biggest selling album of the year, and overall indies accounted for 5 per cent of the album’s sales. Meanwhile, independent shops accounted for 35 per cent of sales for the new Boards Of Canada album Tomorrow’s Harvest and 31 per cent of sales for Savages’ debut Silence Yourself.

The 10 best-selling albums in independent record shops in the first half of 2013 are:

1. ‘The Next Day’, David Bowie

10. ‘Trouble Will Find Me’, The National