Target To Ditch DVD and Blu-ray Store Sales

First, it was sales pulled by Disney in Australia and several Asian and Latin American markets, then it was Best Buy, now its Target, both of who have now stopped or are about to stop DVD and Blu-ray Physical Media sales.

Target have just announced that they will discontinue the sales of almost all DVD and Blu-ray discs in-store by 2025. The good news is that they will still support on-line sales and continue to sell games in store.

Rumors from X user President of Physical Media have now been confirmed by online gaming and entertainment publication IGN , that indeed Target is slated to stop selling most physical media in store by 2025.

Here is a quote to IGN after they reached out to Target for comment. The retail chain will be;” “transitioning the limited assortment of DVDs” they carry in retail stores. The official website will still offer “thousands of titles” for customers to purchase, while the retail stores will be moving to a more selective approach in what physical media it carry. The spokesperson went on to tell IGN that it would offer select DVDs in its stores for new release or “during key times throughout the year when they are more popular,” such as Black Friday or during an anti-Prime day sale.

The Target representative went on to say; “Based on our guests’ shopping patterns and broader industry trends, we’re transitioning the limited assortment of DVDs we carry in our stores to Target.com, where guests will continue to find thousands of titles,” the spokesperson said. “Moving forward, we’ll offer select DVDs in stores when they are newly released or during key times throughout the year when they are more popular, like for gift giving during the holidays.”

Clearly, this has to be a reaction to the ever increasing number of users who stream their movies. However, these streaming services are constantly raising prices and locking features such as Dolby Atmos and 4K HDR behind premium subscription tiers. The idea of paying a one-time fee to watch your favorite films in the highest video and audio quality is now a far more attractive deal. Not to mention that you never know when a streaming service is going to drop your favorite movie or it gets moved to another streaming service!

Now matter how you look at it, these reduced sales outlets will ultimately impact sales and potentially hasten the demise of physical media. It wouldn’t be too bad if streamed movies came close to the video/audio quality and features of physical media, but they DO NOT, and maybe never will!