If you’re going to come in the comments and try to tie this unrelated news to your beliefs that Target is “woke”, kindly go find a different channel to do that on. Target supporting the LGBTQ+ community, as many other brands do the same, has nothing to do with their shrinking sales or changes in business strategy. I fully support those communities. These people exist. They are real. And they deserve respect like anyone else. Full stop.
Thanks for being an ally, Jeff. The true "NPC" are those who blindly hate due to ignorance and being easily manipulated. For those who disagree, you don't need an excuse to love and to accept and to not be an a-hole to other people who aren't hurting anyone else.
@@Vinylfiend60 I love that in your mind family-centered means you can’t support LGBTQ. So they don’t have families right? What’s the deal with “family values” people…
I'm seeing a lot more people ditching or cutting back on streaming. I don't seem so crazy now having a physical copy! I think the younger generation will start returning to it as the streaming market gets more fragmented, expensive and riddled with advertising.
As a Gen Z kid I can confirm this theory. Got in physical media a year ago and I'm finding watching movies easier than ever. I havent ditched streaming but definietley cut back in favour of blu rays.
Not just riddled with advertising, but also edited for things like runtime, political climate, and legalities involving soundtracks. The more power and one-sided things get , the more bs the consumer has to deal with.
Thanks for this. Jeff. If it's a movie I care about, it's physical for me. Not every film makes it to the digital storefronts, and discs can't be retroactively edited to suit "Modern Audiences" or removed because some license changed hands.
Same lmaooo I can't stand not getting the slipcover, that's why sometimes if I do some shopping on Ebay, I'll want to see a picture with the slipcover. Sometimes on Ebay, a movie is like $20 but displays a picture of just the cover of the movie, I try to avoid that because I can't see if there's a slipcover.
It’s a punch in the gut as a collector, but once the shock passed, it’s clear that it’s been headed this way as far as the big box stores are concerned. More power to the niche stores and websites to fill the vacuum
I think Amazon is also still a massive factor. People don't go to box stores for these items, they just order to have them shipped to the house. As the video notes, even Walmart/Target probably will do more business in physical media through their website shipping rather than in-store.
@@ninjafoxgamesgeekery absolutely agree! Amazon is a massive factor in this. (Just ask anyone who used to work at a Borders Books.) There’s just no virtual substitute for browsing real shelves in a store, and I’m looking for the silver lining
2020 (due to covid) changed everything for me when it comes to physical media. For 2 years I bought physical media online and had it shipped to my home. When I started to go back to physical stores in 2022, the physical media sections were reduced or straight up decimated and so I continued to order online. It’s 2023 now but for the foreseeable future, I’ll continue to have physical media shipped to my house. It is what it is.
Honestly, I expect to see a resurgence in physical media like DVD and Blu Ray at some point similar to vinyl records in the next few years. I hear so many people I know who were streaming only complaining recently about loss of titles on streamers. It may never reach the return records have. But I think we still have a resurgence to see. I even expect to see it with CDs. I have been in the physical media industry and movie and music industry for 3 plus decades. And these things like what Target is doing don’t scare me honestly…
Doesn’t scare me either! I see it coming back at stores that can get into it. I think it’s just not a focus point for Target right now. They’re much more focused on groceries, home goods, and family stuff.
That’s fair. Though the strike didn’t really get the residual increase the unions wanted (residuals will only increase for “made for streaming” shows), so it seems like streaming will continue mostly unchanged (if the union had gotten what they wanted then a lot more content would have been cut from streaming, which would have greatly benefitted the physical media industry).
Also, there have been recent instances of streams being edited or censored by streaming services. For example, see the controversy surrounding the censoring of the classic film "The French Connection."
Streaming isn't working as a business model & they know it. I would love to have a Blu-Ray release of "Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power". I believe that streaming & physical media can co-exist.
I started working at Target back when they had the big $5/$7.50/$10 blu ray shelves a few years back. It's been hard to watch that physical media shrink down especially cause that's been one of my go-tos for my blu-rays since I don't have a smaller media store near me.
I can’t recall the last time I purchased a blu-ray or 4k disc at Target, so while I feel the sting of the overall situation, it honestly won’t make much difference to me, personally. I generally buy via the manufacturer’s web site or from Amazon/Best Buy/Barnes & Noble online.
That’s likely the move in the future, I bought my first steel book in person from best buy, and I was shocked how everything was in great condition, unlike getting shipped which is a gamble
It's so baffling BestBuy and Wal-Mart doesn't have that option when I purchase my copies. Like that should be number one to get people into the stores, but they would rather do shipping and damaging physical copies in mail.
But as long as they're people out there who are willing to support physical media regardless of the kind of place that they're selling or buying in, I don't think the art of physical media in itself is ever going to truly "die." Thanks to boutique labels, it's alive and well in in the underground.
I'm a long time veteran of Loss Prevention in retail. Simply put... too many people are stealing these types of things and we can't keep the items stocked and it's screwing up inventory and in stock issues. It's a complex problem. You are going to see more open store retailers go down this very road.
@@Lonovavirit's a complex issue. The shoplifters take the items off the shelf, then the store still thinks that stuff is on the shelf due to inventory levels. They have no sales. It's not until inventory that you realize it's even gone. The companies think the items are not selling but they are just not available. This is why in stock is so bad at Wal Marts and Best Buys.
I own a a video store in Michigan called static tape. I’ve been around for five years now and every year continues to be better than the last and I’m even looking at expanding what you said about margins on. New releases is completely true. It’s unfortunate but i’ve been doing very well where I’m at and since the start of 2023 I’ve had a huge increase of people wanting physical media. I know I won’t be going anywhere for a long time and will continue to do great. Thank you for this video and helping everyone realize things are going to be OK.
We've been hearing about the death of Physical for 2 decades now. But it still hangs on, just different ways of buying them. As long as you can still readily get them online and at a reasonable price, it'll be fine.
What concerns me more than shrinking retail is that the skyrocketing pricing of physical media, due to shrinking market, will cause a "chicken & egg" cause & effect that could destroy our passion as well as the product.
I agree. Honestly, I haven’t bought a disc at Target in a long time. Part of that is because I’ve stopped shopping at Target. However, even when I did shop there, they got to a point with DVDs and Blu-rays where it was all titles I already had or didn’t care about. The lion’s share of my physical media buying is online now.
It doesn't really matter if Target gets out of the physical market. I will have a problem though if Amazon decides to get out of it. The greatest threat to physical media is if or when manufactures no longer decide to make bluray/4k players.
I went to a Best Buy that was being totally redone (new flooring, new ceiling, new paint job, and new placement of products). All video discs were gone. There were LP records and gaming media discs.
Physical media isn't in danger...it's physical RETAIL that's in danger! I, personnally, haven't brought any Discs at a 'Brick-&-Morter' store in almost 10 YEARS! 😎 I prefer On-line buying. As long as there are collectors, there will be sellers of physical media.
Yup. I agree. Target has had hard times this year. Part of that is political, but not all of it. Big box stores are struggling. Grocery stores are fine.
I just went to Target, all Blu Rays are now gone! This is terrible, I know that Target hasn’t been doing well financially and their market share for physical media is declining! But DVDs and Blu Rays are still impulse buys at big box stores, if they only want to sell new releases that’s fine, but Target is a big mistake by discontinuing physical media, especially in areas that don’t have a Walmart nor Best Buy in the shopping mall.
It’s funny because I used to go to target twice a month for a new movie. Sometimes it was only one of their $5 blu rays, but then I’d buy over $100 on clothes, food and other stuff. Now I just don’t go to target at all lol
I've seen this happen before in other countries. In the Middle East, they've stopped selling any DVDs, blu-rays and 4K in most places, and even local distributors had closed up shop years ago (but even then, physical media was still being sold to an extent before being disposed of). In Europe, the selection on offer had decreased significantly with boxsets and new releases being sold more often. Online might be an easy option, and I can see the convenience, but shipping charges can make one doubt purchasing in the first place. Recently, when I ordered some sitcom boxsets, the cases arrived really damaged (even though they were in side a strong outer box), and in one boxset, one of the discs got loose inside the case and it was all scratched up! Digital is also not a very good option for me, because I was planning on renting Aquaman: King of Atlantis from the Microsoft Store and recently I found it was removed!
Totally agree. Target set this decision in motion 3-5 yrs ago when their stock started shrinking and exclusives were all but stopped. The last time I purchased a physical movie from Target was 2018/19. They were never the most competitive price wise or selection. Their exclusives were the only reason I ever purchased anything from them. I bet we see a lot of their stock end up at Big Lots, Dollar Tree or online venues like Gruv or Hamilton.
Lack of accessibility is what made me move online because if I wanted to visit a physical store to buy a DVD or Blu-ray or 4K I’d have to pay for a bus and a train from where I live in the sticks before even buying the Film or TV boxset I want. The only time I go out of my way to visit a physical store now is if a particular limited collectors edition I really wanted sold out online
this video came out shortly after I went to my local target. I actually walked past the very small 6 ft shelf that had mostly DVDs and very few 4ks Blurays on it. I was shocked as I knew of their choice to lower their quantity. I know it has nothing to do with Sales themselves but rather online sells out doing physical in store purchases. Im pretty sure you will still be able to purchase through their site. I have also recently moved towards more online orders anyways with special releases coming from specific sites
Target was always my final option when looking for a specific movie. Though I did recently pick up Sleepy Hollow there because they were the only place that had copies.
@AnklepantsSkateZine yep that's the one. Yeah I've found the slipcover art was rubbed off on every copy, so I just grabbed the one where it was least noticeable lol
I went to my local Best Buy, which was my go to for their Blu-ray library. They recently renovated their store and got rid of all their Blu-rays and dvds. Broke my heart. Times are changing and I’m not ready.
Yep sad piracy is becoming the only way to preserve stuff now movies didn't have this issue like video games but that's going to change once they get rid of physical media and only let you stream it.
It looks like we are seeing the phase out unfortunately for a lot of big box retailers but honestly targets physical media prices weren’t very competitive to begin with for their collections. I rarely look to target for purchases of 4K outside of the winter holidays because their pricing isn’t all that competitive with alternative outlets selling the same 4K titles
That's crazy. 4 Best Buy stores in my area carry plenty physical media in their stores. I'm talking about their shelves being packed, which is a good thing. I know 1 Best Buy store around me that doesn't sell any kind of physical media, unfortunately. I usually buy a lot of my physical media from Target and Best Buy.
I noticed that yesterday at Target. I usually buy 4K Blu-rays or other Blu-rays at Target, I was trying to look for a copy of Sisu on 4K and the Targets in my area didn't have one copy of that film. I guess I will now buy my physical media from Bullmoose, Best Buy, and Amazon now.
It's not just the space it's the shipping inbetween spaces. It makes sense to buy/sell physical media straight from the distributer/studio...it could even keep the end cost down for the consumer.
When I first saw the change happened, I thought it was specifically on my location, but I never realized it was a widespread thing, so thank you for bringing that up. While they still sell DVDs and Blu-rays in my Target location, it’s reduced to just a shelf of TV shows and $5 movies. I miss when it was easier to find a variety of stuff on these shelves, as most of that variety is now gone.
As much as I prefer browsing in person, I get it. However, if the standard is going to become mostly online, then stores need to be better at taking care to ship physical media in a way that it won’t get damaged in the mail.
Target is also facing physical media theft , it’s harder to steal a book,or LP!! My Walmart is also have a theft problem so they are putting the physical media either behind glass enclosures or putting them in the plastic cases
I went to a Best Buy in Annapolis Md not to long ago to check out what they had on DVD. The sales associate told me that this particular one doesn't sell any physical media anymore because of theft. What a shame
Walked into the local Target closest to me today. The spiner rack with recent releases was gone and some guy was doing construction near the $5 DVD section. It does seem to be a lot more space for vinyl, but still under construction. Will have to see if the nearby Super Target is the same.
This is a shame, especially for me and considering where I live. My Walmart always had a much bigger selection of movies than Target, but Target had arguably a cooler selection, like more 4Ks and steelbooks. It's going to be a real shame if Best Buy gets rid of their movies, because that's usually my go-to place for shopping in store. It stinks especially, because all of the coolest physical media stores are so far away from me.
This is quite a shame to see, especially for people who live in an area like me that has a ton of Targets but only one or two Walmarts and a handful of Best Buys. It’s so strange to me now to see where physical media has gone since I started collecting when I was 12 (I’m 24 now for anyone who wanted to do math)
Here in Australia it's getting harder to find physical media. Only one big chain stocks them now (JB Hi Fi) and not all stores have them. Soon enough physical media will be online order only.
Same in the UK where supermarkets (which sell everything from groceries to homeware to clothes) have pretty much given up on DVDs and Blu Ray. You'll be lucky if they have a little stand of the latest titles. However..... the record store HMV has returned to many major high streets with some pretty niche movie titles such as from Arrow and it's very well curated. On the flip side, I'm the only person that I know who has a 4K blu ray player, so it's for the enthusiast only. As for us, the "CEX" second hand games & movie chain are everywhere in the UK so it's a good way to randomly pick titles up.
There's lot's of us in the UK with 4k bluray players, loftlegacy, we're with you, don't worry. I'm also so glad we have HMV here, great stores for movies, vinyl, cd's and books.
@@michaelalanpowell It is a good return to the high street. Saying that I got "Dalek Invasion of the Earth 2150AD" (if you are into that kind of thing lol ) for £16 on 4K steelbook from Amazon last week, so it's still quite affordable if you are patient.
I haven’t bought in-store in years. Amazon, Kino Lorber, Arrow, vinegar Syndrome, etc… are my go to’s. Plenty of ways to support physical media besides these block stores. Physical media is better than ever right now!
Back in my local supermarket when i was younger there used to be a whole isle dedicated to films and TV shows but now that section only takes up 1/8 of an isle. We can only look to media specific stores and online to keep the medium alive. The general public just dont care about physical media like they used to.
What is troubling to me is that I receive so many items in the mail that are damaged due to poor packaging! Along with this is the added costs of often having to pay high shipping fees, just to have them arrive damaged or even literally destroyed on occasion. Then you have to resolve that added headache. I also see the industry trying to do to CDs and movies what they did to vinyl. Kill it off, then bring it back and make it "niche" to charge insane prices for it. CDs are getting back to prices I haven't seen since the were first being sold. Had to pay over $18 for a new release yesterday. Rarely see sales on new releases now. Don't get me started on movie prices. Paying $40 - $50 for a Disney release or something else is driving me out of the market. I can't afford to pay those prices and am buying way less media now due to budget restraints. You can't sell movies/TV shows if you price many people out of the market! 🤬
I agree. I get most of my blu ray's and DVD's from ordering online and more often than not, the case is damaged when I receive them. I'd rather find them at a physical store at a good price, but that doesn't seem to be the state of retail these days.
My local Walmart has significantly shrunken their movie section. They only have maybe a quarter of a shelf dedicated to movies. They have a full shelf dedicated to vinyl and cds, which honestly I am happy that Vinyl and cds are getting a big push because to me they are part of physical media and after I finish shopping for movies I go look in the Vinyl and CD section because I also collect those. While it is sad that some of these stores are moving away from physical movies, my local Best Buy has usually been the place to go for movies. They have the biggest selection in my area of movies. Although Best Buy does have one issue, and that’s that they are usually the most expensive. As an example I can get the upcoming Ghostbusters 4k steelbook for $60 from Best Buy where I can get the same steelbook at Target or Amazon for $40.
I'm so glad I live in DFW, where there are TONS of physical media stores (comics, records, DVD, etc.). These stores are always busy. If you're in an alternative subculture (Goth, Punk, Hardcore, etc), the new artists also sell CDs, vinyl, and even cassettes on Bandcamp and at shows. Physical media is here to stay.
You still can buy it from them online,i think its just a move to be competitive with like Walmart, Amazon and etc. Im not sure if Target has a subscription or something like Walmart yet. My Walmart did the same pretty much and it was a move to try and get people to sign up and use Walmart+more
Target wasn’t necessarily my go-to place for DVDs or Blu-Rays, but I still got some on occasion. However, just up until recently, they’ve had a really decent selection. Went into today and was stunned at how little was left. Very sad. We’ve traded the real world for a digital one. I have honestly come to hate, and resent, streaming. It’s a scam, honestly. Pay every month for something you’ll never own and that can be taken down without any warning and even censored. And somehow they’ve convinced the masses that it’s better and more convenient than having a hard copy you can watch at any time of your convenience. Always look at thrift stores, and places such as 2nd and Charles, McKay’s, etc. I’m always on the lookout for VHS, DVDs, CDs, and Blu-Rays. I own so much physical media, its ridiculous lol.
"It’s a scam" "somehow they’ve convinced the masses" - Corporations are after profits. The masses throw their money at what they want, and the companies react. I'd say it's the other way around. The masses have convinced the industry that streaming is what they want. "more convenient than having a hard copy you can watch at any time" - This seems a bit silly. You can make the arguments for ownership and quality of the experience, but streaming's biggest selling point is the convenience. I enjoy viewing content in a home theater better than any other approach, but it takes setup and I'm locked into a specific location to partake. With streaming you can view content from any number of devices from just about any location at any time.
@@Movies-kz7hg Sounds like you’re trying to flex and failing miserably to convince me. Licensing or lack thereof determines whether you can stream or not. Joke is on you, boi.
Great perspective on this. I've been saying for a while that physical media will always exist, but it's moving more and more into the area of a boutique rather than "big box" market. Physical discs are simply not the way that most people consume most media or TV nowadays, so the idea that every large retailer will continue to stock these objects most people aren't using simply doesn't track. With that said, I don't think physical media will ever fade away, just because there's money to be made and a dedicated fanbase of collectors and preservationists who want to protect their access to enjoy these movies, TV shows, and games on their own terms and without worrying about an expiring license taking it away. It's a community clearly willing to spend big money on what catches their interest, too, and someone will want a slice of that pie! As you said, just a lot more of it will be either moving online or will only be found in brick-and-mortar format in larger cities who have enough population to support them. So, the sky *is* falling a little... but not the whole sky. With that said, I do mourn, like many others do, that we're losing yet another place as human beings to go and browse things we love for fun. Sitting in front of a computer monitor is less social, has less of a feeling of discovery, lacks the same tactile joy, and generally tends to be less pleasant than in-person browsing, even if it is more efficient and fruitful when it comes to hunting for a specific movie. Society just has a dearth in recent years of things to GO to, even for something as simple and innocent as shopping for movies, and that's pretty sad. If you like shopping in-person, make an effort to support brick and mortar video sales by buying there when you can! I know the point and click is convenient and easy, but if we want to preserve in-person browsing, we have to adjust our spending habits to reward companies that offer that with sales. Just saying.
I've never purchased a Blu-ray or DVD from target so I could care less. Almost everything I buy comes from Amazon, Amazon- Japan or Amazon-UK. As long as physical media is still available through them, I am happy.
Thank you for your videos. Ii live in a small town and so I shop Amazon. Went to a Best Buy a month ago just to see what was going on, no physical media, my local Walmart record collection is as big as the videos. There's probably less theft without those smaller items. Thank You for your uploads.
That's the problem with retailers. They're always complaining about online stores, but do everything they can to drive customers into their arms. That said: I've never been happier that Amazon exists. Oh, and regarding sales per square foot: that's unfortunately an error most retailers are doing. They only look at one department and its sales and profits, instead of considering that perhaps it is this supposedly unprofitable department that brings customers into the store and then they also buy other things.
Noticed target in my area doing the same thing. Walmarts In my area don’t really carry any 4k and not a lot of Blu-ray, actually mostly DVDs because that’s what people in my area still buy unfortunately. Best Buy’s are also being gutted to the minimum. And the “smaller” stores in my area newbury comics are completely getting rid of all of there physical media. Wish I had a bull moose around me. Love going there when I head up to Maine yearly.
I knew this would happen. I’ve noticed for a long time. I’ve been shopping on line with Amazon for years. I use to compare prices with Amazon and then buy in the retail store. Now it’s just Amazon
Here in the Kansas City area there's a place called Vintage Stock. There's like 5 of them in the area. They sell movies, CDs, records, old comic books, Hot Wheels, and some collectable toys. Their prices can be on the high side. Some of their used movies cost as much as a new copy of the same movie. Still it can be a good place to look for a hard to find movie or a movie that is long out of print. They got stores in a few other cities.
I've been critical (at times) of this channel when the conversation moves toward deep financial analysis. However, I think that you get this video right--"it is simply a shift in habits". Thank you for not overreacting and issuing the physical media clarion call. Great video!
At the local Wal-Mart near me, I SEE DVDs, sparse Blu-Ray, sparse 4K BD. Sparse CDs...And an increased amount of vinyl, charged over $25. I would buy vinyl there, but everything else, amazon...
They cut our Target’s movie section in half this past week. I bought Cobweb 2023 on bluray yesterday. I’m going to miss shopping at a store for movies, but I get why businesses are doing it. Side note: I was so excited that there was a physical release of Cobweb. This is a fantastic horror film.
The target near me is great for physical media. It has 3 rows + end caps. Much better than any walmart ive been to and pretty close to the selection of my nearest Best Buy
It would be amazing if the neighborhood "Mom & Pop" did see an increase in business, dare I say, a "resurgence" in popularity. Because the bigger chain stores are what hurt a lot of them. But now with those same businesses fully committing to "digital-only" releases, it feels the Mom & Pop stores are going to be that last places where you can still find physical media. And I will ALWAYS support that. I want something that I touch and feel, and when I buy it, I can actually say "I OWN this!" EDIT: @ 3:45 - Now THAT's my kind of place! I want to go to THAT store.
My Walmart has half an aisle of movies, and most of those are just DVDs and less than 5 4k titles At least my local Best Buy still has a full aisle of blurays and 4ks, and they haven’t been marked up yet
In Los Angeles target has dropped 90% of their DVDs 4K Blu-ray.. Walmart has outsource their DVDs Bluray’s in 4K’s to a third-party company. They are no longer in valve. They’re just taking a small profit from the sales places. Best Buy are remodeling their stores and once remodeled, they have removed CDs, DVDs, Bluray’s in 4K there are.
FYI, here in Europe, at least in Scandinavia / Northern Europe, we haven't had physical 4K discs in shops at all anymore for 6 years. We only have few speciality movie stores, but physical movies for large public haven't existed in years anymore. 99% of all 4k discs I own , I've had to order from the internet.
Another thing I don't understand is why music streaming services are so popular. It doesn't make any sense to me. If you buy the CD, you can always extract a digital copy by using software that converts them into a mp3 file and then you can transfer your music to your phone or whatever music device you have. Your music won't go away because you own the CD. Same with dvds, blurays and 4ks.
That’s why ima cd buyer and seller in this 2024 to me streaming dosent exist and I always support my favorite artist on cds better sound quality u own the music no internet u get bonus tracks and it’s yours forever 📀📀📀👍👍💿💿💿🤟🤟🤟
@@T800-theRealOne heck my area so ghetto a lot people buy USBS instead of cds 💿 but they can still be as backups to transfer ur music cause cds 💿 have better sound quality u will never get that with cheap as streaming
I made tons of impulse buys at Target when they had movies cheap, as I was there to pick up other stuff. They helped put regular media stores out of business as they couldn’t compete with their pricing, and NOW they decide they don’t want to sell this stuff? Fuck them. It’s great you have Bullmoose but we have nothing like that now in Sacramento. I’ve had to mail order every non-mainstream title for 4 years now. I hate having to wait for stuff to arrive and then having it get damaged or the wrong item sent.
Best Buy has all but completely given up on physical media. I went into 2 stores in the last month. The space is still there but it’s barely stocked. They have a few copies of the new releases, but everything else is very sparse. I even tried to buy the Speed UHD Blu while I was there. I waited at the one and only register behind one customer for 5 minutes (they were trying to return something I guess? Not sure) before I gave up, left the disc on the counter and left.
Every movie and tv show isn’t available to stream. Sometimes physical media is the only way to watch it. For example, the movie Jane Got a Gun with Natalie Portman is only available on an out of print Blu-ray or DVD. You can’t stream it anywhere. The same for PCU from 1994 starting Jeremy Piven. You can only watch it on DVD or VHS. I’m sure there are hundreds of more examples.
I work at Target. We are doing the Q4 transition/resets. This week was entertainment. Yes, the front endcap in entertainment that was the new release DVDs and Blu rays was converted in new release vinyl records. The new DVDs were moved down the main aisle. One section in the aisle of DVDs was lost. Also a back endcap in entertainment that had more DVDs, specifically movie and TV show boxsets, was converted into more books. The DVDs were already significant reduced after the store remodel, but now another 2 sections were lost. We used to have new release DVDs at front checklanes, but after the remodel, they swapped it to new release books. So books and vinyl records are gaining shelf space, while DVD and Blu ray movies are shrinking. Sad, but true.....
Forgot to mention that Target HAD their own digital service, Target Ticket but that was shut down! So if digital does become the only outlet for movies in the future, Target already lost out on that. When they shut Target Ticket down I thought that would prompt them to focus more on keeping movies in their stores.
Here in the UK HMV is the only place apart from places like CEX that sell physical media. The big supermarket chains have drastically reduced their physical media footprint. When I see places like Walmart selling fairly large amounts of physical media (compared to the UK at least) I think that our cousin's across the pond don't realise how good they've got it. I usually purchase my blu rays and 4k's online nowadays, but it's not the same as going into an actual brick and mortar shop and buying a nice 4k or blu ray.
I haven’t read the deal between the WGA and AMPTP, but if they won out on having better residuals on streaming services, then there’s a good chance that physical copies come back in larger quantities as there’ll be incentive to not keep things up on streams as often.
Back here in The Netherlands there is always no place to buy physical media movies except for online or a occasional corner in a store. Even online some distributors skip The Netherlands. I order all my movies from Germany, The UK and The US. The funny part is that a lot of people in my direct environment are buying dvd's again because of streaming services dropping movies and series so often they cannot watch the ones they want to see.... As long as they make physical media i will be buying it. I will never pay for digital movies.
Unfortunately, I do still buy the occasional BD at Target (new releases) when I'm picking up basic sundry and grocery items, but I've noticed the selection shrinking over the last few years, and their retail exclusive packaging becoming less and less "collectable" (it's now just different sleeve art and/or art card insets), but hey; everything must end eventually. Can't say it won't suck some of the fun out of going to Target to pick up coffee or dog food though.
I recently starting picking up some 4k discs. It's actually shocking how bad streaming usually looks compared to physical media. I guess I just got used to streaming quality because of the convenience and cost. But now the costs and complications from many services and changing streaming rights, it is losing that.
Hello Films At Home, I called my local Target store to check if they had stopped selling Blu-Rays & DVDS. The guy in charge of the electronics department assured me that they were still selling Blu-Rays & DVDs & was surprised by the report & that it was the first he had heard of it. So, I can rest easy that my Target store hasn't stopped selling Blu-Rays & DVDS. In fact, I'm going there on Monday with my Housekeeper. I'm thinking about getting the first season of "The Last of Us." Anyway, thanks for hearing me out.
Absolutely fantastic video mate. So well-researched and explained. I would love to see even more content like this. Going deeper into the market, the sales, and what you think the future holds.
My Target has empty shelves in many areas. Losing Blu-rays is just another empty space. If the vinyl record fade fades, they will have nothing to sell.
How Walmart slimmed down on its blu ray and dvd selection over the past few years has made more sense than it didn’t with more of a focus on new releases and some more legacy choices under a specific genre or theme. Idk if Target took this approach or something slightly different, but Walmart has also pushed for more exclusive releases for their store, especially with Disney releases. Maybe Target couldn’t compete with that, even though they did have some cool exclusive editions, that probably wasn’t enough in the long term.
The target ceo makes 680 times the salary most employees make in store. It’s greed bottom line. For the record nothing can be as epic as blu ray technology.
Also physical movies aren't selling well because the quality has gone down. Look at marvel for example. When marvel was hitting on all cylinders. The blu rays once released sold like hot cakes. I Know of people renting digital copies. Rarely buying them.
I was in a Best Buy in the Columbus, Ohio area last weekend. That particular store had discontinued stocking any physical media ...no blu-rays, no DVDs, nothing. Pretty soon, the only places you'll be able to purchase physical media will be at Amazon or at other online retailers.
You hit it right on the button, Jeff! Physical media will be here for the long haul. All we have to do is just adapt to the ways of buying it. Please do not sound the alarms, everyone, we’re OK!
I'm worried because "Target" has always been my go-to place for Physical Media! Whenever I find some great deals including those $5 Blu-rays and DVDs on Movies, as well as getting 4Ks at an affordable price, finding TV Shows or finding some rare titles even if they cost more through clearance, I'm always thrilled to pick them up! I also love some of those exclusives they have too and some music on CDs and Vinyls. Heck, I even bought VHS tapes there back in the 90s! I don't just go there for actual stuff like books, clothes, food, fragrances, other electronics and accessories. I'm sick and tired of this dumb downed generation shoving Digital down everyone throats! I don't want to live in the world where Streaming and Digital are the only options for entertainment, I want to own a movie and music in my Physical library forever and I too want to support them! And I still want to continue buying titles in a retail store and not just online places like Amazon and ebay. Sure, I like to watch some movies and shows available on streaming and digital, too but I also want to watch my Blu-rays, 4Ks and DVDs as well! Same goes for listening to music on CDs and Vinyls, as well as radio and cassettes. Physical Media deserves more respect!
Recently there was a made-for-TV movie on Disney+ that I wasn't aware of. Great, I get Disney+. But when I went to find it, turns out that the title was deleted for some reason. People get spoiled by streaming, thinking that everything will always be there.
![Kodak Black - Catch Fire [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/A4ch-olIuZo/mqdefault.jpg)
If you’re going to come in the comments and try to tie this unrelated news to your beliefs that Target is “woke”, kindly go find a different channel to do that on. Target supporting the LGBTQ+ community, as many other brands do the same, has nothing to do with their shrinking sales or changes in business strategy. I fully support those communities. These people exist. They are real. And they deserve respect like anyone else. Full stop.
Well said Jeff, love supporting a channel where there are sound morals
Thanks for being an ally, Jeff. The true "NPC" are those who blindly hate due to ignorance and being easily manipulated. For those who disagree, you don't need an excuse to love and to accept and to not be an a-hole to other people who aren't hurting anyone else.
@@Vinylfiend60 I love that in your mind family-centered means you can’t support LGBTQ. So they don’t have families right? What’s the deal with “family values” people…
@@Vinylfiend60 What do you mean "target" kids?
@@memeheadroom I’ve hidden half of them from the channel. Two is more than enough anyway.
I'm seeing a lot more people ditching or cutting back on streaming. I don't seem so crazy now having a physical copy! I think the younger generation will start returning to it as the streaming market gets more fragmented, expensive and riddled with advertising.
To us physical media enthusiasts, you never were crazy. Matter of fact we were with you 100%
As a Gen Z kid I can confirm this theory. Got in physical media a year ago and I'm finding watching movies easier than ever. I havent ditched streaming but definietley cut back in favour of blu rays.
@@overportfilms Right on!
Not just riddled with advertising, but also edited for things like runtime, political climate, and legalities involving soundtracks. The more power and one-sided things get , the more bs the consumer has to deal with.
Agreed. If my generation can embrace vinyl records, the next one could easily get into physical media.
Thanks for this. Jeff. If it's a movie I care about, it's physical for me. Not every film makes it to the digital storefronts, and discs can't be retroactively edited to suit "Modern Audiences" or removed because some license changed hands.
There's an emotional link with a film when you have a physical copy on your shelf. Streaming cannot replace this.
The biggest reason why I prefer shopping in store is because I’m always scared that my copy of a movie won’t come with the slipcover.
Or with a damaged slipcover!
Same here
Same lmaooo
I can't stand not getting the slipcover, that's why sometimes if I do some shopping on Ebay, I'll want to see a picture with the slipcover. Sometimes on Ebay, a movie is like $20 but displays a picture of just the cover of the movie, I try to avoid that because I can't see if there's a slipcover.
Hilarious...
Yes I want to see what I am buying.
It’s a punch in the gut as a collector, but once the shock passed, it’s clear that it’s been headed this way as far as the big box stores are concerned. More power to the niche stores and websites to fill the vacuum
I think Amazon is also still a massive factor. People don't go to box stores for these items, they just order to have them shipped to the house. As the video notes, even Walmart/Target probably will do more business in physical media through their website shipping rather than in-store.
@@ninjafoxgamesgeekery absolutely agree! Amazon is a massive factor in this. (Just ask anyone who used to work at a Borders Books.) There’s just no virtual substitute for browsing real shelves in a store, and I’m looking for the silver lining
That sucks though. I don’t order anything online. If I can’t find something in a store, I won’t get it.
@BoogSReviews even if it's cheaper online?
Best buy is next. Will be online only for them
2020 (due to covid) changed everything for me when it comes to physical media. For 2 years I bought physical media online and had it shipped to my home.
When I started to go back to physical stores in 2022, the physical media sections were reduced or straight up decimated and so I continued to order online.
It’s 2023 now but for the foreseeable future, I’ll continue to have physical media shipped to my house. It is what it is.
Honestly, I expect to see a resurgence in physical media like DVD and Blu Ray at some point similar to vinyl records in the next few years. I hear so many people I know who were streaming only complaining recently about loss of titles on streamers. It may never reach the return records have. But I think we still have a resurgence to see. I even expect to see it with CDs. I have been in the physical media industry and movie and music industry for 3 plus decades. And these things like what Target is doing don’t scare me honestly…
Doesn’t scare me either! I see it coming back at stores that can get into it. I think it’s just not a focus point for Target right now. They’re much more focused on groceries, home goods, and family stuff.
@@JeffRauseo exactly…
That’s fair. Though the strike didn’t really get the residual increase the unions wanted (residuals will only increase for “made for streaming” shows), so it seems like streaming will continue mostly unchanged (if the union had gotten what they wanted then a lot more content would have been cut from streaming, which would have greatly benefitted the physical media industry).
Also, there have been recent instances of streams being edited or censored by streaming services. For example, see the controversy surrounding the censoring of the classic film "The French Connection."
Streaming isn't working as a business model & they know it. I would love to have a Blu-Ray release of "Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power". I believe that streaming & physical media can co-exist.
I started working at Target back when they had the big $5/$7.50/$10 blu ray shelves a few years back. It's been hard to watch that physical media shrink down especially cause that's been one of my go-tos for my blu-rays since I don't have a smaller media store near me.
I can’t recall the last time I purchased a blu-ray or 4k disc at Target, so while I feel the sting of the overall situation, it honestly won’t make much difference to me, personally. I generally buy via the manufacturer’s web site or from Amazon/Best Buy/Barnes & Noble online.
I always do in-store pickup for movies at Walmart, best buy, and target. That way I don't have to worry about damage during shipping
That’s likely the move in the future, I bought my first steel book in person from best buy, and I was shocked how everything was in great condition, unlike getting shipped which is a gamble
It's so baffling BestBuy and Wal-Mart doesn't have that option when I purchase my copies. Like that should be number one to get people into the stores, but they would rather do shipping and damaging physical copies in mail.
But as long as they're people out there who are willing to support physical media regardless of the kind of place that they're selling or buying in, I don't think the art of physical media in itself is ever going to truly "die." Thanks to boutique labels, it's alive and well in in the underground.
I'm a long time veteran of Loss Prevention in retail. Simply put... too many people are stealing these types of things and we can't keep the items stocked and it's screwing up inventory and in stock issues. It's a complex problem. You are going to see more open store retailers go down this very road.
My friend who works a similar job for Best Buy says much the same thing. Even armed guards are barely slowing down rampant retail theft.
@@Lonovavirit's a complex issue. The shoplifters take the items off the shelf, then the store still thinks that stuff is on the shelf due to inventory levels. They have no sales. It's not until inventory that you realize it's even gone. The companies think the items are not selling but they are just not available. This is why in stock is so bad at Wal Marts and Best Buys.
I own a a video store in Michigan called static tape. I’ve been around for five years now and every year continues to be better than the last and I’m even looking at expanding what you said about margins on. New releases is completely true. It’s unfortunate but i’ve been doing very well where I’m at and since the start of 2023 I’ve had a huge increase of people wanting physical media. I know I won’t be going anywhere for a long time and will continue to do great. Thank you for this video and helping everyone realize things are going to be OK.
We've been hearing about the death of Physical for 2 decades now. But it still hangs on, just different ways of buying them. As long as you can still readily get them online and at a reasonable price, it'll be fine.
What concerns me more than shrinking retail is that the skyrocketing pricing of physical media, due to shrinking market, will cause a "chicken & egg" cause & effect that could destroy our passion as well as the product.
This.
I agree. Honestly, I haven’t bought a disc at Target in a long time. Part of that is because I’ve stopped shopping at Target. However, even when I did shop there, they got to a point with DVDs and Blu-rays where it was all titles I already had or didn’t care about. The lion’s share of my physical media buying is online now.
It doesn't really matter if Target gets out of the physical market. I will have a problem though if Amazon decides to get out of it.
The greatest threat to physical media is if or when manufactures no longer decide to make bluray/4k players.
I went to a Best Buy that was being totally redone (new flooring, new ceiling, new paint job, and new placement of products). All video discs were gone. There were LP records and gaming media discs.
Physical media isn't in danger...it's physical RETAIL that's in danger! I, personnally, haven't brought any Discs at a 'Brick-&-Morter' store in almost 10 YEARS! 😎 I prefer On-line buying. As long as there are collectors, there will be sellers of physical media.
same, i cant even remember the last time i bought in store movies. maybe 15 years ago
Yup. I agree. Target has had hard times this year. Part of that is political, but not all of it. Big box stores are struggling. Grocery stores are fine.
I could care less. I don’t go to Best Buy, Target or even Walmart. I do buy 98% online because I’m guaranteed to get In.
I just went to Target, all Blu Rays are now gone! This is terrible, I know that Target hasn’t been doing well financially and their market share for physical media is declining! But DVDs and Blu Rays are still impulse buys at big box stores, if they only want to sell new releases that’s fine, but Target is a big mistake by discontinuing physical media, especially in areas that don’t have a Walmart nor Best Buy in the shopping mall.
It’s funny because I used to go to target twice a month for a new movie. Sometimes it was only one of their $5 blu rays, but then I’d buy over $100 on clothes, food and other stuff. Now I just don’t go to target at all lol
I've seen this happen before in other countries. In the Middle East, they've stopped selling any DVDs, blu-rays and 4K in most places, and even local distributors had closed up shop years ago (but even then, physical media was still being sold to an extent before being disposed of). In Europe, the selection on offer had decreased significantly with boxsets and new releases being sold more often. Online might be an easy option, and I can see the convenience, but shipping charges can make one doubt purchasing in the first place. Recently, when I ordered some sitcom boxsets, the cases arrived really damaged (even though they were in side a strong outer box), and in one boxset, one of the discs got loose inside the case and it was all scratched up!
Digital is also not a very good option for me, because I was planning on renting Aquaman: King of Atlantis from the Microsoft Store and recently I found it was removed!
Totally agree. Target set this decision in motion 3-5 yrs ago when their stock started shrinking and exclusives were all but stopped. The last time I purchased a physical movie from Target was 2018/19. They were never the most competitive price wise or selection. Their exclusives were the only reason I ever purchased anything from them. I bet we see a lot of their stock end up at Big Lots, Dollar Tree or online venues like Gruv or Hamilton.
I went to the newly remodeled Super Target in Hiram, Georgia, and they have a limited selection of DVDs and Blu-rays, which sucks IMO
Lack of accessibility is what made me move online because if I wanted to visit a physical store to buy a DVD or Blu-ray or 4K I’d have to pay for a bus and a train from where I live in the sticks before even buying the Film or TV boxset I want. The only time I go out of my way to visit a physical store now is if a particular limited collectors edition I really wanted sold out online
this video came out shortly after I went to my local target. I actually walked past the very small 6 ft shelf that had mostly DVDs and very few 4ks Blurays on it. I was shocked as I knew of their choice to lower their quantity. I know it has nothing to do with Sales themselves but rather online sells out doing physical in store purchases. Im pretty sure you will still be able to purchase through their site. I have also recently moved towards more online orders anyways with special releases coming from specific sites
Target was always my final option when looking for a specific movie. Though I did recently pick up Sleepy Hollow there because they were the only place that had copies.
The new _Sleepy Hollow_ (Tim Burton) 4K? I've been having a difficult time finding a copy in good condition but haven't tried Target.
@@AnklepantsSkateZineI found one at Target too. Worth checking.
@AnklepantsSkateZine yep that's the one. Yeah I've found the slipcover art was rubbed off on every copy, so I just grabbed the one where it was least noticeable lol
Many times, their sales on particular titles would beat everyone else, so I always checked Target
A few films and series are cheaper at Target than elsewhere. Not many, but enough to warrant stopping into a store.
I went to my local Best Buy, which was my go to for their Blu-ray library. They recently renovated their store and got rid of all their Blu-rays and dvds. Broke my heart. Times are changing and I’m not ready.
Yep sad piracy is becoming the only way to preserve stuff now movies didn't have this issue like video games but that's going to change once they get rid of physical media and only let you stream it.
It looks like we are seeing the phase out unfortunately for a lot of big box retailers but honestly targets physical media prices weren’t very competitive to begin with for their collections. I rarely look to target for purchases of 4K outside of the winter holidays because their pricing isn’t all that competitive with alternative outlets selling the same 4K titles
That's crazy. 4 Best Buy stores in my area carry plenty physical media in their stores. I'm talking about their shelves being packed, which is a good thing. I know 1 Best Buy store around me that doesn't sell any kind of physical media, unfortunately.
I usually buy a lot of my physical media from Target and Best Buy.
I've heard rumors that at some locations more movies get stolen than purchased so I'm not surprised to see them go.
I noticed that yesterday at Target. I usually buy 4K Blu-rays or other Blu-rays at Target, I was trying to look for a copy of Sisu on 4K and the Targets in my area didn't have one copy of that film. I guess I will now buy my physical media from Bullmoose, Best Buy, and Amazon now.
It's not just the space it's the shipping inbetween spaces. It makes sense to buy/sell physical media straight from the distributer/studio...it could even keep the end cost down for the consumer.
When I first saw the change happened, I thought it was specifically on my location, but I never realized it was a widespread thing, so thank you for bringing that up. While they still sell DVDs and Blu-rays in my Target location, it’s reduced to just a shelf of TV shows and $5 movies. I miss when it was easier to find a variety of stuff on these shelves, as most of that variety is now gone.
As much as I prefer browsing in person, I get it. However, if the standard is going to become mostly online, then stores need to be better at taking care to ship physical media in a way that it won’t get damaged in the mail.
Target is also facing physical media theft , it’s harder to steal a book,or LP!! My Walmart is also have a theft problem so they are putting the physical media either behind glass enclosures or putting them in the plastic cases
I went to a Best Buy in Annapolis Md not to long ago to check out what they had on DVD. The sales associate told me that this particular one doesn't sell any physical media anymore because of theft. What a shame
Alot of it now is retail theft, which Target has been a big supporter of. That's just a fact.
Target even admitted this when they closed down none major market stores all in blue states this week
Walked into the local Target closest to me today. The spiner rack with recent releases was gone and some guy was doing construction near the $5 DVD section. It does seem to be a lot more space for vinyl, but still under construction.
Will have to see if the nearby Super Target is the same.
This is a shame, especially for me and considering where I live. My Walmart always had a much bigger selection of movies than Target, but Target had arguably a cooler selection, like more 4Ks and steelbooks. It's going to be a real shame if Best Buy gets rid of their movies, because that's usually my go-to place for shopping in store. It stinks especially, because all of the coolest physical media stores are so far away from me.
This is quite a shame to see, especially for people who live in an area like me that has a ton of Targets but only one or two Walmarts and a handful of Best Buys. It’s so strange to me now to see where physical media has gone since I started collecting when I was 12 (I’m 24 now for anyone who wanted to do math)
I love that you gave a shout to The Archive - that place is such a gem. Just went there yesterday and go every few weeks
Here in Australia it's getting harder to find physical media. Only one big chain stocks them now (JB Hi Fi) and not all stores have them. Soon enough physical media will be online order only.
In Australia Target is no longer selling DVDs, CDs and Blurays. This has been the case since the start of 2023.
Same in the UK where supermarkets (which sell everything from groceries to homeware to clothes) have pretty much given up on DVDs and Blu Ray. You'll be lucky if they have a little stand of the latest titles. However..... the record store HMV has returned to many major high streets with some pretty niche movie titles such as from Arrow and it's very well curated. On the flip side, I'm the only person that I know who has a 4K blu ray player, so it's for the enthusiast only. As for us, the "CEX" second hand games & movie chain are everywhere in the UK so it's a good way to randomly pick titles up.
There's lot's of us in the UK with 4k bluray players, loftlegacy, we're with you, don't worry. I'm also so glad we have HMV here, great stores for movies, vinyl, cd's and books.
@@michaelalanpowell It is a good return to the high street. Saying that I got "Dalek Invasion of the Earth 2150AD" (if you are into that kind of thing lol ) for £16 on 4K steelbook from Amazon last week, so it's still quite affordable if you are patient.
I haven’t bought in-store in years. Amazon, Kino Lorber, Arrow, vinegar Syndrome, etc… are my go to’s. Plenty of ways to support physical media besides these block stores. Physical media is better than ever right now!
Im very sad over this - I love collecting phyiscal formats
Back in my local supermarket when i was younger there used to be a whole isle dedicated to films and TV shows but now that section only takes up 1/8 of an isle. We can only look to media specific stores and online to keep the medium alive. The general public just dont care about physical media like they used to.
I understand big retailers ditching physical media. For me, I do physical media only whether it be games,dvd, and cds.
What is troubling to me is that I receive so many items in the mail that are damaged due to poor packaging! Along with this is the added costs of often having to pay high shipping fees, just to have them arrive damaged or even literally destroyed on occasion. Then you have to resolve that added headache.
I also see the industry trying to do to CDs and movies what they did to vinyl. Kill it off, then bring it back and make it "niche" to charge insane prices for it. CDs are getting back to prices I haven't seen since the were first being sold. Had to pay over $18 for a new release yesterday. Rarely see sales on new releases now.
Don't get me started on movie prices. Paying $40 - $50 for a Disney release or something else is driving me out of the market. I can't afford to pay those prices and am buying way less media now due to budget restraints. You can't sell movies/TV shows if you price many people out of the market! 🤬
I agree. I get most of my blu ray's and DVD's from ordering online and more often than not, the case is damaged when I receive them. I'd rather find them at a physical store at a good price, but that doesn't seem to be the state of retail these days.
My local Walmart has significantly shrunken their movie section. They only have maybe a quarter of a shelf dedicated to movies. They have a full shelf dedicated to vinyl and cds, which honestly I am happy that Vinyl and cds are getting a big push because to me they are part of physical media and after I finish shopping for movies I go look in the Vinyl and CD section because I also collect those. While it is sad that some of these stores are moving away from physical movies, my local Best Buy has usually been the place to go for movies. They have the biggest selection in my area of movies. Although Best Buy does have one issue, and that’s that they are usually the most expensive. As an example I can get the upcoming Ghostbusters 4k steelbook for $60 from Best Buy where I can get the same steelbook at Target or Amazon for $40.
I'm so glad I live in DFW, where there are TONS of physical media stores (comics, records, DVD, etc.). These stores are always busy. If you're in an alternative subculture (Goth, Punk, Hardcore, etc), the new artists also sell CDs, vinyl, and even cassettes on Bandcamp and at shows. Physical media is here to stay.
You still can buy it from them online,i think its just a move to be competitive with like Walmart, Amazon and etc. Im not sure if Target has a subscription or something like Walmart yet. My Walmart did the same pretty much and it was a move to try and get people to sign up and use Walmart+more
Target wasn’t necessarily my go-to place for DVDs or Blu-Rays, but I still got some on occasion. However, just up until recently, they’ve had a really decent selection. Went into today and was stunned at how little was left. Very sad. We’ve traded the real world for a digital one. I have honestly come to hate, and resent, streaming. It’s a scam, honestly. Pay every month for something you’ll never own and that can be taken down without any warning and even censored. And somehow they’ve convinced the masses that it’s better and more convenient than having a hard copy you can watch at any time of your convenience. Always look at thrift stores, and places such as 2nd and Charles, McKay’s, etc. I’m always on the lookout for VHS, DVDs, CDs, and Blu-Rays. I own so much physical media, its ridiculous lol.
"It’s a scam" "somehow they’ve convinced the masses" - Corporations are after profits. The masses throw their money at what they want, and the companies react. I'd say it's the other way around. The masses have convinced the industry that streaming is what they want.
"more convenient than having a hard copy you can watch at any time" - This seems a bit silly. You can make the arguments for ownership and quality of the experience, but streaming's biggest selling point is the convenience. I enjoy viewing content in a home theater better than any other approach, but it takes setup and I'm locked into a specific location to partake. With streaming you can view content from any number of devices from just about any location at any time.
@@Movies-kz7hg Sounds like you’re trying to flex and failing miserably to convince me. Licensing or lack thereof determines whether you can stream or not. Joke is on you, boi.
I've been to second and Charles a few times and all of those DVDs are overpriced.
Those selection is decent though. 🙂
@@marccaselle8108 I guess it depends on your location, too. Mine are moderately priced.
Great perspective on this. I've been saying for a while that physical media will always exist, but it's moving more and more into the area of a boutique rather than "big box" market. Physical discs are simply not the way that most people consume most media or TV nowadays, so the idea that every large retailer will continue to stock these objects most people aren't using simply doesn't track. With that said, I don't think physical media will ever fade away, just because there's money to be made and a dedicated fanbase of collectors and preservationists who want to protect their access to enjoy these movies, TV shows, and games on their own terms and without worrying about an expiring license taking it away. It's a community clearly willing to spend big money on what catches their interest, too, and someone will want a slice of that pie! As you said, just a lot more of it will be either moving online or will only be found in brick-and-mortar format in larger cities who have enough population to support them. So, the sky *is* falling a little... but not the whole sky.
With that said, I do mourn, like many others do, that we're losing yet another place as human beings to go and browse things we love for fun. Sitting in front of a computer monitor is less social, has less of a feeling of discovery, lacks the same tactile joy, and generally tends to be less pleasant than in-person browsing, even if it is more efficient and fruitful when it comes to hunting for a specific movie. Society just has a dearth in recent years of things to GO to, even for something as simple and innocent as shopping for movies, and that's pretty sad. If you like shopping in-person, make an effort to support brick and mortar video sales by buying there when you can! I know the point and click is convenient and easy, but if we want to preserve in-person browsing, we have to adjust our spending habits to reward companies that offer that with sales. Just saying.
I've never purchased a Blu-ray or DVD from target so I could care less. Almost everything I buy comes from Amazon, Amazon- Japan or Amazon-UK. As long as physical media is still available through them, I am happy.
Thank you for your videos.
Ii live in a small town and so I shop Amazon. Went to a Best Buy a month ago just to see what was going on, no physical media, my local Walmart record collection is as big as the videos. There's probably less theft without those smaller items. Thank You for your uploads.
That's the problem with retailers. They're always complaining about online stores, but do everything they can to drive customers into their arms. That said: I've never been happier that Amazon exists.
Oh, and regarding sales per square foot: that's unfortunately an error most retailers are doing. They only look at one department and its sales and profits, instead of considering that perhaps it is this supposedly unprofitable department that brings customers into the store and then they also buy other things.
Noticed target in my area doing the same thing. Walmarts In my area don’t really carry any 4k and not a lot of Blu-ray, actually mostly DVDs because that’s what people in my area still buy unfortunately. Best Buy’s are also being gutted to the minimum. And the “smaller” stores in my area newbury comics are completely getting rid of all of there physical media. Wish I had a bull moose around me. Love going there when I head up to Maine yearly.
I knew this would happen. I’ve noticed for a long time. I’ve been shopping on line with Amazon for years. I use to compare prices with Amazon and then buy in the retail store. Now it’s just Amazon
Nothing better than Amazon
Here in the Kansas City area there's a place called Vintage Stock. There's like 5 of them in the area. They sell movies, CDs, records, old comic books, Hot Wheels, and some collectable toys. Their prices can be on the high side. Some of their used movies cost as much as a new copy of the same movie. Still it can be a good place to look for a hard to find movie or a movie that is long out of print. They got stores in a few other cities.
Musux stores 🏬 are the best places to find hard old stuff
I've been critical (at times) of this channel when the conversation moves toward deep financial analysis. However, I think that you get this video right--"it is simply a shift in habits". Thank you for not overreacting and issuing the physical media clarion call. Great video!
At the local Wal-Mart near me, I SEE DVDs, sparse Blu-Ray, sparse 4K BD. Sparse CDs...And an increased amount of vinyl, charged over $25. I would buy vinyl there, but everything else, amazon...
Such a shame, given their history of exclusive editions.
They cut our Target’s movie section in half this past week. I bought Cobweb 2023 on bluray yesterday. I’m going to miss shopping at a store for movies, but I get why businesses are doing it.
Side note: I was so excited that there was a physical release of Cobweb. This is a fantastic horror film.
The target near me is great for physical media. It has 3 rows + end caps. Much better than any walmart ive been to and pretty close to the selection of my nearest Best Buy
It would be amazing if the neighborhood "Mom & Pop" did see an increase in business, dare I say, a "resurgence" in popularity. Because the bigger chain stores are what hurt a lot of them. But now with those same businesses fully committing to "digital-only" releases, it feels the Mom & Pop stores are going to be that last places where you can still find physical media. And I will ALWAYS support that.
I want something that I touch and feel, and when I buy it, I can actually say "I OWN this!"
EDIT: @ 3:45 - Now THAT's my kind of place! I want to go to THAT store.
My Walmart has half an aisle of movies, and most of those are just DVDs and less than 5 4k titles
At least my local Best Buy still has a full aisle of blurays and 4ks, and they haven’t been marked up yet
In Los Angeles target has dropped 90% of their DVDs 4K Blu-ray.. Walmart has outsource their DVDs Bluray’s in 4K’s to a third-party company. They are no longer in valve. They’re just taking a small profit from the sales places. Best Buy are remodeling their stores and once remodeled, they have removed CDs, DVDs, Bluray’s in 4K there are.
FYI, here in Europe, at least in Scandinavia / Northern Europe, we haven't had physical 4K discs in shops at all anymore for 6 years. We only have few speciality movie stores, but physical movies for large public haven't existed in years anymore. 99% of all 4k discs I own , I've had to order from the internet.
Another thing I don't understand is why music streaming services are so popular. It doesn't make any sense to me. If you buy the CD, you can always extract a digital copy by using software that converts them into a mp3 file and then you can transfer your music to your phone or whatever music device you have. Your music won't go away because you own the CD. Same with dvds, blurays and 4ks.
That’s why ima cd buyer and seller in this 2024 to me streaming dosent exist and I always support my favorite artist on cds better sound quality u own the music no internet u get bonus tracks and it’s yours forever 📀📀📀👍👍💿💿💿🤟🤟🤟
@@RobertQuant Exactly!
@@T800-theRealOne heck my area so ghetto a lot people buy USBS instead of cds 💿 but they can still be as backups to transfer ur music cause cds 💿 have better sound quality u will never get that with cheap as streaming
@@RobertQuant i still have my CD-RWs i had when i was in high school. they are copies of my friend's cd at the time and my cd's still work.
@@T800-theRealOne I buy blank cds 💿 cd-r to burn my cds 💿
I made tons of impulse buys at Target when they had movies cheap, as I was there to pick up other stuff. They helped put regular media stores out of business as they couldn’t compete with their pricing, and NOW they decide they don’t want to sell this stuff? Fuck them. It’s great you have Bullmoose but we have nothing like that now in Sacramento. I’ve had to mail order every non-mainstream title for 4 years now. I hate having to wait for stuff to arrive and then having it get damaged or the wrong item sent.
Best Buy has all but completely given up on physical media. I went into 2 stores in the last month. The space is still there but it’s barely stocked. They have a few copies of the new releases, but everything else is very sparse.
I even tried to buy the Speed UHD Blu while I was there. I waited at the one and only register behind one customer for 5 minutes (they were trying to return something I guess? Not sure) before I gave up, left the disc on the counter and left.
I was bummed at first about Target but you're right many other places selling DVDs and Bluray. I shop online for most of mine anyway.
Every movie and tv show isn’t available to stream. Sometimes physical media is the only way to watch it. For example, the movie Jane Got a Gun with Natalie Portman is only available on an out of print Blu-ray or DVD. You can’t stream it anywhere. The same for PCU from 1994 starting Jeremy Piven. You can only watch it on DVD or VHS. I’m sure there are hundreds of more examples.
I cannot remember the last time I purchased a movie inside the store. I basically always purchase online.
I work at Target. We are doing the Q4 transition/resets. This week was entertainment. Yes, the front endcap in entertainment that was the new release DVDs and Blu rays was converted in new release vinyl records. The new DVDs were moved down the main aisle. One section in the aisle of DVDs was lost. Also a back endcap in entertainment that had more DVDs, specifically movie and TV show boxsets, was converted into more books. The DVDs were already significant reduced after the store remodel, but now another 2 sections were lost. We used to have new release DVDs at front checklanes, but after the remodel, they swapped it to new release books. So books and vinyl records are gaining shelf space, while DVD and Blu ray movies are shrinking. Sad, but true.....
Forgot to mention that Target HAD their own digital service, Target Ticket but that was shut down! So if digital does become the only outlet for movies in the future, Target already lost out on that. When they shut Target Ticket down I thought that would prompt them to focus more on keeping movies in their stores.
Here in the UK HMV is the only place apart from places like CEX that sell physical media. The big supermarket chains have drastically reduced their physical media footprint. When I see places like Walmart selling fairly large amounts of physical media (compared to the UK at least) I think that our cousin's across the pond don't realise how good they've got it. I usually purchase my blu rays and 4k's online nowadays, but it's not the same as going into an actual brick and mortar shop and buying a nice 4k or blu ray.
I haven’t read the deal between the WGA and AMPTP, but if they won out on having better residuals on streaming services, then there’s a good chance that physical copies come back in larger quantities as there’ll be incentive to not keep things up on streams as often.
They didn’t really. Residuals are only significantly improving for shows made for streaming.
Back here in The Netherlands there is always no place to buy physical media movies except for online or a occasional corner in a store. Even online some distributors skip The Netherlands. I order all my movies from Germany, The UK and The US.
The funny part is that a lot of people in my direct environment are buying dvd's again because of streaming services dropping movies and series so often they cannot watch the ones they want to see....
As long as they make physical media i will be buying it. I will never pay for digital movies.
Unfortunately, I do still buy the occasional BD at Target (new releases) when I'm picking up basic sundry and grocery items, but I've noticed the selection shrinking over the last few years, and their retail exclusive packaging becoming less and less "collectable" (it's now just different sleeve art and/or art card insets), but hey; everything must end eventually.
Can't say it won't suck some of the fun out of going to Target to pick up coffee or dog food though.
I agree indeed on that there are various places to still find and buy physical media
I recently starting picking up some 4k discs. It's actually shocking how bad streaming usually looks compared to physical media. I guess I just got used to streaming quality because of the convenience and cost. But now the costs and complications from many services and changing streaming rights, it is losing that.
Funny enough, the Barnes and Noble in my area has the best movie selection over Best Buy and Wal-Mart. It's not huge, but better than other places.
Just popping in to say my local Best Buy got rid of all physical media with the exception of trendy vinyl records and while ago
Hello Films At Home,
I called my local Target store to check if they had stopped selling Blu-Rays & DVDS. The guy in charge of the electronics department assured me that they were still selling Blu-Rays & DVDs & was surprised by the report & that it was the first he had heard of it. So, I can rest easy that my Target store hasn't stopped selling Blu-Rays & DVDS. In fact, I'm going there on Monday with my Housekeeper. I'm thinking about getting the first season of "The Last of Us." Anyway, thanks for hearing me out.
My Walmart only has regular dvd, hardly any blu ray & it’s really really rare to even see any 4k blu ray
Absolutely fantastic video mate. So well-researched and explained. I would love to see even more content like this. Going deeper into the market, the sales, and what you think the future holds.
In my country stores dropped dvds years ago, even dedicated dvd stores dropped that market, the only way to get them now, is the internet
My Target has empty shelves in many areas. Losing Blu-rays is just another empty space. If the vinyl record fade fades, they will have nothing to sell.
How Walmart slimmed down on its blu ray and dvd selection over the past few years has made more sense than it didn’t with more of a focus on new releases and some more legacy choices under a specific genre or theme.
Idk if Target took this approach or something slightly different, but Walmart has also pushed for more exclusive releases for their store, especially with Disney releases. Maybe Target couldn’t compete with that, even though they did have some cool exclusive editions, that probably wasn’t enough in the long term.
The target ceo makes 680 times the salary most employees make in store. It’s greed bottom line. For the record nothing can be as epic as blu ray technology.
My aisles were broken down and empty too. Asked a worker and he said they were just remodeling the section. The movies were coming back.
Also physical movies aren't selling well because the quality has gone down. Look at marvel for example. When marvel was hitting on all cylinders. The blu rays once released sold like hot cakes. I Know of people renting digital copies. Rarely buying them.
I was in a Best Buy in the Columbus, Ohio area last weekend. That particular store had discontinued stocking any physical media ...no blu-rays, no DVDs, nothing. Pretty soon, the only places you'll be able to purchase physical media will be at Amazon or at other online retailers.
A consequence of less retailers carrying blu rays/4K's is higher prices. It seems things rarely go on sale these days.
You hit it right on the button, Jeff! Physical media will be here for the long haul. All we have to do is just adapt to the ways of buying it. Please do not sound the alarms, everyone, we’re OK!
I'm worried because "Target" has always been my go-to place for Physical Media! Whenever I find some great deals including those $5 Blu-rays and DVDs on Movies, as well as getting 4Ks at an affordable price, finding TV Shows or finding some rare titles even if they cost more through clearance, I'm always thrilled to pick them up! I also love some of those exclusives they have too and some music on CDs and Vinyls. Heck, I even bought VHS tapes there back in the 90s! I don't just go there for actual stuff like books, clothes, food, fragrances, other electronics and accessories. I'm sick and tired of this dumb downed generation shoving Digital down everyone throats! I don't want to live in the world where Streaming and Digital are the only options for entertainment, I want to own a movie and music in my Physical library forever and I too want to support them! And I still want to continue buying titles in a retail store and not just online places like Amazon and ebay. Sure, I like to watch some movies and shows available on streaming and digital, too but I also want to watch my Blu-rays, 4Ks and DVDs as well! Same goes for listening to music on CDs and Vinyls, as well as radio and cassettes. Physical Media deserves more respect!
Recently there was a made-for-TV movie on Disney+ that I wasn't aware of. Great, I get Disney+. But when I went to find it, turns out that the title was deleted for some reason. People get spoiled by streaming, thinking that everything will always be there.