GREENSBORO, N.C. — Have you heard the news? Best Buy will stop selling DVD movies by early next year.
A statement from Best Buy says:
To state the obvious, the way we watch movies and TV shows is much different today than it was decades ago. Making this change gives us more space and opportunity to bring customers new and innovative tech for them to explore, discover, and enjoy.
Speculation about the fate of Best Buy's physical movies began swirling around this week after several media outlets reported on the company's plans.
Best Buy will continue to sell games that are DVDs. Of course, the national retailer joined Netflix which stopped their DVD mailing service. The red envelopes are no more. So, are DVDs dead?
Not so for local retail shops. A mom-and-pop shop in Minnesota specializes in VHS and DVDs. The owner says you shouldn't count out physical media. He says there will always be people who want to use that kind of medium.
"Getting physical media is not going to be as difficult as it sounds you're just not going to get it from Best Buy anymore. There is an absolute need for physical media. Now is that need going to grow over the next few years probably not but there is ALWAYS going to be a demographic that wants to buy these things," said Richard Schwinden, Mr. Zero's owner.
He makes a point that streaming services can be shut off at any time and the internet can go out, but your DVDs will still play.