Some Target Stores Reportedly No Longer Selling DVDs, Blu-rays, and CDs
The big-box retailer has emptied DVD shelves at a number of locations, but it doesn't appear to be an across-the-board policy change.
Some Target stores have reportedly stopped selling DVDs, Blu-rays, and CDs in their stores, removing displays in the part of the store where they sell other physical media like books and vinyl records. This move is not entirely unexpected -- the retailer, which had a significant amount of space dedicated to movies and music until 2021 or so, has been reducing the footprint of its disc sales for the last few years -- but it's surprising in that it comes now, as physical media seems to be experiencing a bit of a renaissance, with a number of Disney+ shows coming to Blu-ray for the first time, and some pretty big and notable box sets on the way.
(Of course, that's all in the United States. There was also a recent report that Disney would stop selling discs altogether in Australia.)
Earlier this year, an informal study indicated that there were more movies and TV shows available on disc in 2023 than ever before...but that many of those releases were not coming from big studios. Indie movies, custom projects like school sports and local media, and even bootlegs being distributed online have stepped up to fill the gap in the market.
Target has not made an official announcement on the matter, and continues to sell a wide variety of movies and music on their website. However, there have been a number of reports on social media, some including photos of empty shelving units.
A call to one New York store indicated that they still had a section -- mostly Blu-rays and 4K discs, but some standard DVDs -- and had no knowledge of plans to change that.
Best Buy recently removed the home video section from their stores, with the only physical media still in most locations being records and video games. Walmart, Target's closest competitor, has also reduced the footprint of physical media in stores over the last few years, but in most cases they maintain a section that's two to three times a large as Target's, and still have a lot of bargain discs, both on seasonal endcaps and in their notorious bargain bins.
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