Those who keep track of consumer spending in Britain are keeping up with changing tastes — the MP3 digital music player has replaced the CD player on the list of goods used to measure inflation.
The Office of National Statistics said more Britons now use MP3s than the once-popular personal CD player.
Dixons, a chain of electronics stores, said it sold an MP3 player every three seconds last Christmas season.
"The MP3 player has become the default amongst music devices," said Hamish Thompson, a Dixons spokesman. "It is definitely the format of the future."
The statistics office also added flat-screen televisions, digital camcorders and Internet music downloads to its "shopping basket" of goods.
The office updates the list of 650 representative goods and services it uses to measure inflation every year. It collects about 120,000 prices on the items every month from stores around the country.
