Best Buy Making Massive Change in Early 2024

Best Buy is bidding farewell to physical DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. According to Variety, the chain of electronics retailers will phase out sales of all disc-based movies by early 2024, having reportedly made the decision nine months ago.

Best Buy confirmed the change in a statement to Variety. “To state the obvious, the way we watch movies and TV shows is much different today than it was decades ago,” the statement reads. “Making this change gives us more space and opportunity to bring customers new and innovative tech for them to explore, discover and enjoy.”

What this new space will be used for is a confusing thought. There’s already a lot of space full of stuff nobody buys right now, so getting rid of discs should give even more to gather dust.

The company will continue to sell physical discs through the 2023 holiday season, with the only physical media in the store being video games. The news was first reported by the blog Digital Bits, though it seems to be down a bit. It is just the latest sign that physical media and ownership will be thrown up in the air, with the weakest being left on the editing room floor.

Best Buy joins Netflix in ending its relationship with DVDs. After Best Buy exits, the only retailers selling discs will be Walmart, Target, Amazon and other boutique sellers. Red Box is also still in the physical media game, still renting discs in one of their 29,000 rental kiosks.

The decision comes as sales of Blu-ray and DVDs have started to drop, with physical media revenue dropping since the late 2010s. Still, not everybody is wrapping up its physical media business. Walmart has been pushing to control a joint venture with Universal and Warner Bros. to give management to some parts of its physical meal issues.