Sorry, Blu-ray and DVD fans. Best Buy plans to stop selling physical media, possibly as early as the beginning of 2024.
The retailer was once the go-to source for browsing the aisles for movies or music, but those days are over, and the final knife in the physical media coffin at the retailer is coming, according to Digital Bits. Beyond in-store Blu-ray, DVD and 4k Ultra HD sales, which have been gradually phasing out over the past few years, it will include online sales, too.
Best Buy’s big decision
Considering this streaming world that we live in, the news isn’t really a shock. If you’ve been in a Best Buy recently, you may have noticed the slim pickings on digital media. Some locations don’t even bother to stock new releases on the sales floor.
Though discontinuing in-store sales isn’t much of a surprise, Best Buy’s ending online sales is a bit more eye-catching.
With Best Buy discontinuing sales, that mostly leaves Walmart, Target and Amazon as big box-store options. for physical media Walmart is the largest retailer of Blu-ray, DVD and 4K titles — even more than Amazon — with a whopping 45% of the market share.
Despite the news, consumers shouldn’t consider physical media dead. The disc industry obviously isn’t what it once was, and the golden age is over. However, indie studios and distributors have a thriving business by catering to superfans and collectors of physical media. Hollywood studios recognize that fandom and know the disc business can still drive revenue, even though streaming dominates.
Regardless, the business of releasing new movies, albums and more to a public beyond collectors will diminish more and more. If you’re itching to buy a Blu-ray of your favorite movie, you may want to soon before it’s only available at an outrageous cost on the collector’s market. It’s the end of an era, for sure.
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