Times have been tough for people trying to sell things that actually exist. We’ve bid farewell to Woolworths, waved off Borders, blew a saddened tissue in the direction of Zavvi, and now it looks like even the mighty HMV are quaking in their boots. In order to counter a 15% slump in annual sales, they’re set to launch an online on-demand service, ‘HMVon-demand’ (slick) where customers can purchase their blockbusters directly to the digital device of their choosing.

To be honest, we’re actually a little surprised HMV haven’t gotten their digital act together sooner. With the raging success of LoveFilm, Blink-Box and with 40D launching their film4 online service, it’s pretty clear to everyone that the future of domestic film consumption is on the web. So is it too little too late? The first marketing push for the new service is coming at us from January, so we’ll just have to wait and see…