When rumors began circulating that Target would officially be removing every piece of physical media from their stores, it really wasn’t all that much of a surprise. After all, Best Buy – once a go-to for all of our DVD and CD needs – cleared their shelves this year. Think about it: what does your local Target’s Blu-ray section look like? It’s probably not what it used to be, no matter how limited. Heck, the last time I went to Target, the DVD/Blu-ray section was just the end of an aisle not that far from the Chex Mix. But the store has now responded to the speculation, saying they won’t be entirely doing away with discs.

According to a spokesperson for Target (via IGN), the primary resource for shoppers will be online, although you can still buy certain releases in the store. “Based on our guests’ shopping patterns and broader industry trends, we’re transitioning the limited assortment of DVDs we carry in our stores to Target.com, where guests will continue to find thousands of titles. Moving forward, we’ll offer select DVDs in stores when they are newly released or during key times throughout the year when they are more popular, like for gift giving during the holidays.” So don’t worry, you can still pick up your $4.99 copy of Christmas with the Kranks come October…

OK, so maybe few of us were ever used to buying our Blu-rays at Target, but it’s still yet another blow to physical media and an experience unique to in-store shopping – who is scrolling on their website only to have to wait three days to get the movie? No, it was perusing the shelves and seeing if that new release was there or you can find one of your favorite flicks to take home that minute. With Target enacting such a move, that really only leaves Walmart as far as the big names go. But how long will it be before they take a similar route? How long before the discount DVD bin – what fun to huddle around with your friends and find a hidden gem to take home! – goes away forever?

Physical media still exists, that’s for sure, but we are nearer than ever to the point of relying on boutique labels to give us new releases. The latest Mission: Impossible won’t have a problem finding a home, but what about films like Killers of the Flower Moon, which might need the help of a Criterion Collection to ever receive a Blu-ray?

What do you think of Target’s decision to limit how much physical media they sell? Is this spelling doom or does it make sense at this point? Share your opinions with us in the comments section below.

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