In another sign that the end is nearing for DVDs, Best Buy recently announced that it would stop selling them.
The decision means that the company will no longer sell any DVDs in its 1000+ brick-and-mortar stores or online stores.
The decline of DVD sales and rentals continues with a 20% drop in the market being reported between 2021 and 2022.
As the world continues to move toward digital access, DVDs are seen by many as a costly and space-intensive anachronism.
Best Buy helped lead the charge back in the 90s when the stores offered huge rows of the latest titles.
The space allocated for these items has dwindled over the last few years as sales have plummeted in favor of streaming services.
Walmart, the largest DVD vendor with over 45% of all sales, reduced its own floorspace for DVDs by 20% last year.
Walmart, Amazon, and Target are the three main remaining retailers still offering DVD sales.
In a related move, Netflix recently announced the end of its DVD rental service.
So, it is apparent that DVDs will soon be a thing of the past as has happened with their predecessors like Beta Max, Laser Discs, and now even VHS tapes.
These formats have stopped being produced which makes them ripe for collectors and hobbyists.
Comedian Pete Davidson recently joked on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show that he had recently bought 5,000 new and sealed VHS tapes because they were collector items.
Davidson said on the show, “In 2026, it’ll be 20 years since the last VHS was made, right? So 20 years goes by — that’s enough time for people to be like, ‘Oh, that was cool, remember?'”
As DVDs pass down that same road, we might be saying the same thing in 20 years or so.
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