Physical Media might not be dead, but Physical Media in Retail Stores are accelerating the death (1 Viewer)

[bmasters9]

I was at Best Buy a few weeks ago to look at cameras. I have not been shopping in over a year, so it was a real shock to me. There were hardly any movies at all. There were hardly any cameras either. In fact, the whole store seemed under stocked. This was the extent of the movies. This store used to have six to eight very long aisles with movies.

Even before the pandemic, I bought most of my movies online because I tend to like classics and more obscure films that never were carried really widely at the local stores, but occasionally it was fun to browse and maybe find something that I hadn't heard of or a new release that my husband would like. I miss the browsing.

Not much of a choice there-- I was at the one in Newnan, GA (my niece and nephew took me there when I was visiting my brother [he lives down a piece from that in the hamlet of Moreland]), and the selection there is as paltry as what you describe where you are.

 

[Malcolm R]

I think my Walmart now has roughly equal shelf space for DVD's and vinyl records. And much of the DVD shelving that remains is bare.

 

[WillG]

This thread is now 3 years old - I imagine the "depletion" of physical media in brick & mortars is now at a point so low it's not even worth going to a store to see what they may have. I hadn't been to a Best Buy in years so I decided to stop into one recently. The physical media footprint had been greatly reduced to a small area but they still had enough product for me to spend at least 10 minutes browsing - or so I thought. Upon closer inspection, the shelves were mostly occupied by something that looked like movies but were just cards for streaming purchases. The actual product were a couple copies of popular titles here and there, some boutique label titles and expensive box sets of TV shows and big movies. There was a large area that had been cordoned off and there were empty shelves - I guess that store had a major product cutback in progress. It's sad but not unexpected. I do miss the store experience but I get my kicks now from the mailman, Amazon couriers and, occasionally, UPS. They bring me movies on an almost daily basis and that, my friends, is a LOT easier - and healthier - than schlepping to a store with little to no product. I lost count the number of times I walked away from a brick & mortar empty-handed even before physical media started to decline. Early 2000's I used to make weekly pilgrimages to a local shop that had great selection and always went home with an armload of movies. That hasn't happened since about the time I joined this forum.

Oh, and BTW, physical media is NOT dead. My shopping list is a mile long. Taking into account the number of titles I've purchased over the last 3 years alone, I'd say PM is alive and well.

I went to a Best Buy a few weeks ago. Half the physical media racks were empty/near empty. It’s pretty clear they were not restocking

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Given the pandemic, I wouldn't expect retailers like BB to (re)stock much these days. Just can't really tell how it'd be when things return to normal other than it probably won't be better than just before the pandemic...

I usually only went to BB, et al when there's some specific excellent sales... and often just order online for in-store pickup, except for Barnes & Noble (and their few periodic sales, including their Criterion sales)...

_Man_

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If you’re a retailer, at this moment in time discs aren’t a great product to fill your store with - they’re both low margin and low volume, meaning they don’t sell a lot of units and the money earned on selling them is pretty minimal. They take up more space on shelves than other more profitable items, and since they’re not interchangeable, stores have to stock a variety in order to sell any. Think of it this way: if you go to Best Buy to pick up an HDMI cable or a battery, and they don’t have the brand you wanted, you can still get any other brand they stock and walk away with what you need. But if you go to Best Buy to pick up “The Irishman” on DVD and they don’t carry it, a copy of “Star Wars”isn’t a comparable replacement option. It’s not the same product. But they might only sell one copy of “The Irishman” every year or not at all, and that becomes money tied up in both inventory and in real estate, and pretty quickly, the cost of holding on to an individual title exceeds the profit potentially earned by selling it.

The best strategy for big box retailers at this moment in time when it comes to physical media is to stock new release titles being mass produced by studios, which are generally in much higher demand, have better margins, are being supported by active ad campaigns, and which can be returned to the studio once the initial marketing blitz runs its course and sales numbers taper off.

 

[BRAD1963]

I think online shopping has turned into the new norm unfortunately.

 

[DaveF]

I think reports of the format's demise are exaggerated.

Article on the state of Ultra HD Blu-Ray:

The State of Ultra HD Blu-ray

A closer look at the market for movies on physical media

www.flatpanelshd.com

That article is a bad harbinger for enthusiasts. It’s so bad even author must deceive himself as to its meaning: “That UHD BD would mostly cannibalize BD was to be expected”. That’s obviously not what’s happening:

• DVD has grown by 20% in three years, consuming both blu-ray and UHD
• UHD shrank by 32% the past year, relatively speaking (from 7% to 5%)

Missing are total market numbers. Is it a growing dvd market of a growing disc market? Or is it shrinking UHD sales in a shrinking disc market?

That report is pure Morbo if you’re a HD or 4K disc enthusiast!

 

[TJPC]

My usual pattern is to see the latest, say Marvel movie, in the theatre and pre-order the disc version as soon as it becomes available. With no new releases, except for Wonder Woman 1984, my purchasing has slowed down to a trickle. The money I have saved is substantial. I have an Amazon wish list, of mostly Warner Archive and only one or two others, that I would not find in a store anyway.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Missing are total market numbers. Is it a growing dvd market of a growing disc market? Or is it shrinking UHD sales in a shrinking disc market?

I think it’s the latter. Setting aside us enthusiasts at a place like HTF, most people progressed from DVD to HD streaming and never looked back towards a physical object. Of the group that went from DVD to BD, when it was time for the next leap, most went from BD to 4K streaming rather than BD to UHD disc. For titles other than the cream of the crop, many studios are cutting back on the number of SKUs coming out - lots of films are forgoing UHD disc releases while being readily available for 4K streaming, and a not insignificant number of new films stream in all resolutions but only make it to disc on DVD. To me it seems fairly clear: DVD could very well outlive the newer disc formats because it serves an audience that is unwilling/unable/uninterested in streaming, whereas casual viewers are already streaming, and hardcore enthusiasts when given the choice between a DVD or a 4K stream will take the 4K stream.

 

[cineMANIAC]

I think it’s the latter. Setting aside us enthusiasts at a place like HTF, most people progressed from DVD to HD streaming and never looked back towards a physical object. Of the group that went from DVD to BD, when it was time for the next leap, most went from BD to 4K streaming rather than BD to UHD disc. For titles other than the cream of the crop, many studios are cutting back on the number of SKUs coming out - lots of films are forgoing UHD disc releases while being readily available for 4K streaming, and a not insignificant number of new films stream in all resolutions but only make it to disc on DVD. To me it seems fairly clear: DVD could very well outlive the newer disc formats because it serves an audience that is unwilling/unable/uninterested in streaming, whereas casual viewers are already streaming, and hardcore enthusiasts when given the choice between a DVD or a 4K stream will take the 4K stream.

There's no denying streaming is king but are studios making less money by bundling films into streaming services that charge one fee per month? Not every studio operates a streaming service and even if they all had one, will people pay for multiple services each month just to get more variety? I'm no expert but I think studios are foolishly neglecting or even downright abandoning a viable source of income from physical media sales. You can't stream a film like The Beastmaster on HBOMax but Vinegar Syndrome will probably make a killing selling 10,000 copies of a beautiful box set they created with plentiful extras.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

There's no denying streaming is king but are studios making less money by bundling films into streaming services that charge one fee per month? Not every studio operates a streaming service and even if they all had one, will people pay for multiple services each month just to get more variety? I'm no expert but I think studios are foolishly neglecting or even downright abandoning a viable source of income from physical media sales. You can't stream a film like The Beastmaster on HBOMax but Vinegar Syndrome will probably make a killing selling 10,000 copies of a beautiful box set they created with plentiful extras.

Streaming doesn't have to be subscription based. They do also sell digital copies (often very cheaply) via iTunes, Vudu, Amazon, et al, and some/many titles can be bought at one storefront to be accessible across all of them plus Movies Anywhere, if they're eligible (generally based on studios). That's probably the preference for most of us migrating (some of) our collecting from disc to streaming...

And of course, there are certain subs services like the Criterion Channel that seems very good value for those of us interested in their particular curated offerings -- and they've also been rewarding regular subscribers occasional/semi-annual(?) gift certificates good for Criterion discs purchases on their own online shop, which some of us save for their periodic flash sales. Their service may end up the only one I keep year-round -- many of us subscribe to various other services for just 2-3 months per year based on timing of available content and to binge catchup on whatever shows (often "original" and/or "exclusive" to those services), etc...

_Man_

 

[Josh Steinberg]

There's no denying streaming is king but are studios making less money by bundling films into streaming services that charge one fee per month?

The sales numbers would suggest not. Right now, the biggest moneymaker by far is subscription streaming with something like $18 billion in revenue last year. Digital purchases are at about $3 billion. Physical media purchases are at about $2 billion. The growth of subscription has been outpacing the losses in physical.

 

[The Drifter]

As far as VHS tapes go, there are thousands of movies, concerts, documentaries and other genres that haven’t been released on DVD or Blu-ray. While volume has dropped I still sell quite a few VHS tapes per month.
And around here you can get a VCR at Goodwill for $5 to $10 bucks.

I have in my collection several concerts on VHS and Laserdisc unavailable on other formats. I’d love to have them on DVD or Blu-ray but unfortunately they haven’t and probably never will be released.

And don’t forget, there are buyers of media that haven’t upgraded to a digital format. They’re completely happy with a VHS tape of their favorite movies.

Good points. However, note that a lot of movie/TV show fans/collectors don't have VCR's or VHS tapes & don't plan on ever getting them again. I myself never replaced my VCR when it broke in the mid-'90's, due to really hating the format - and this was even before there was anything better out there. Now, I can't imagine ever going back, especially that we have so many superior formats like streaming/DVD's/Blu's, etc.

Also, lot of media that isn't available on DVD/Blu-ray can still be found via streaming. For example, the movie Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and the TV series Midnight Caller (1988-1991) have never been on DVD/Blu-ray (and in the case of MC, never even hit VHS). However, if you look hard enough you can find streams of these online.

 

[Worth]

The sales numbers would suggest not. Right now, the biggest moneymaker by far is subscription streaming with something like $18 billion in revenue last year. Digital purchases are at about $3 billion. Physical media purchases are at about $2 billion. The growth of subscription has been outpacing the losses in physical.

Yes, but Netflix alone is spending $17 billion this year on production, so I'm not sure how profitable streaming actually is. I'm sure none of the major players are actually making any money right now.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I was at Best Buy a few weeks ago to look at cameras. I have not been shopping in over a year, so it was a real shock to me. There were hardly any movies at all. There were hardly any cameras either. In fact, the whole store seemed under stocked. This was the extent of the movies. This store used to have six to eight very long aisles with movies.

Even before the pandemic, I bought most of my movies online because I tend to like classics and more obscure films that never were carried really widely at the local stores, but occasionally it was fun to browse and maybe find something that I hadn't heard of or a new release that my husband would like. I miss the browsing.

SO SIMILAR to what I posted a couple months ago, Suzanne! Those images are practically identical to mine.

Was in my closest Target a few nights ago. They now have some mega big titles right now in a couple of low kiosks and some very mainstream titles on HALF of one short aisle. It is amazing.

But the thing that surprised me the most at Target was that there were probably still four+ full aisles of books for sale. If books are moving at retailers...that's a very good thing.

 

[jayembee]

Some weeks back, my local Best Buy had two (double-sided) rack units reasonably full of discs, with a separate (additional) unit for UHDs near the UHD players/TVs. And the "new releases" rack up at the front of the store. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that they were down to one (double-sided) rack, sparsely filled; the new releases rack about half-full, and the UHD rack still looking much the same as before. I was rather surprised by this turn of events.

Earlier this week, I found myself in two other semi-local BBs, and they weren't as reduced in stock as the local one was, but they were noticeably reduced compared to their previous states.

The local Wal-Mart and Target both have larger selections of discs now.

 

[Worth]

Apple Must Face Lawsuit for Telling Consumers They Can “Buy” Movies, TV Shows

Rejecting Apple's motion to dismiss a lawsuit, a federal judge says it is plausible that consumers don't know that access to purchased content can be revoked.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[MatthewA]

Apple Must Face Lawsuit for Telling Consumers They Can “Buy” Movies, TV Shows

Rejecting Apple's motion to dismiss a lawsuit, a federal judge says it is plausible that consumers don't know that access to purchased content can be revoked.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

It's way past time someone held companies like this accountable for deceptive advertising practices. This isn't a sale, just a very long rental.

I think online shopping has turned into the new norm unfortunately.

That's not a surprise when in-person stores only offer the most basic selections. I used to go to Best Buy at least three times a month in the 2000s. Now I go that many times in a span of six months and I find myself less and less impressed with the selection each time. Rarely anymore do I see a movie older than The Godfather available for sale that isn't a Disney animated film or The Wizard of Oz.

Even BB says they carry more vinyl on their web site than they could ever possibly carry in their store.

 

[albert_m2]

I was at Best Buy a few weeks ago to look at cameras. I have not been shopping in over a year, so it was a real shock to me. There were hardly any movies at all. There were hardly any cameras either. In fact, the whole store seemed under stocked. This was the extent of the movies. This store used to have six to eight very long aisles with movies.

Even before the pandemic, I bought most of my movies online because I tend to like classics and more obscure films that never were carried really widely at the local stores, but occasionally it was fun to browse and maybe find something that I hadn't heard of or a new release that my husband would like. I miss the browsing.

I went to Best Buy yesterday afternoon. My first time in one since December (which then was my first time since the pandemic started). I noticed in December, there was somewhat less than pre pandemic, but wow yesterday.

I had thought that Best Buy did well and assumed that the pandemic created a large shift to online ordering, but I wasn't aware of the company's concerted in store shift to online, and that physical stores were going to be somewhat to largely repurposed as online pick up centers. Sorry if I am repeating anything, but I hadn't followed this much and it was a little disorienting and sad to see the display, so i looked for news on it...

Best Buy’s incredible 2020 online sales are bad news for its store employees

The electronics chain saw total sales rise 8.3% to $47.3 billion in the fiscal year ended in late January, including a 144% increase in U.S. online sales as the COVID-19 pandemic led many Americans to buy electronics to build home offices for a protracted work-from-home period and equip students for remote learning.

That has led Best Buy CEO Corie Barry to seriously rethink the future of the chain’s physical fleet, one in which it will likely have fewer stores, with some of the remaining locations equipped with smaller sales floors and more space allocated to filling online orders.

“With that big of a digital shift happening in that short of a period of time, we’ve been doing everything we can to adjust to the new reality,” Barry told a media briefing to discuss Best Buy’s quarterly results. “Customer shopping behavior will be permanently changed.”

Best Buy, which has some 956 U.S. full-service stores, has a ton of flexibility in shrinking stores, moving them, or even closing them as needed.

Another way Barry is looking to reshape the Best Buy store fleet is by simply carving out more space at some existing stores to serve as miniature fulfillment hubs for online orders, to speed up shipment

I also noticed the video game section was also extremely empty.

 

[DaveF]

Last week a friend texted to our neighborhood group, hey I just watched Predestination and you gotta watch it too! Where did he stream it? It was $4 streaming rental.

I ordered the blu-ray from Amazon for $10, it shows up a couple days later, I spend the hour or two to rip it to my media PC, and watched it yesterday.

Other friends, being sensible people, stream it for the $4


A reflection of the times: Normal people just want to watch a thing, and renting / streaming is in every way easier and cheaper and faster. It’s an impulse, no getting to the store or even waiting for Prime. It’s better than catching random movies on cable. And there’s no disc to collect dust later.

Enthusiasts spend more effort and money to have this experience engaging with physical media. Why? Because enthusiasts get more into a thing than non-enthusiasts (on any activity).

But unfortunately for the disc enthusiasts, all the money and technology and consumer desire is pushing to streaming.