Last updated on March 4th, 2026
On the heels of Best Buy dropping DVDs comes another big box store scaling back. IGN reports that Target plans to scale back its in-store DVD/Blu-ray sales. Going forward, Target will shift to only offering (to quote the article/a Target spokesperson) “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.” The new policy doesn’t affect physical video game sales, or the DVDs/Blu-rays offered on Target’s website.
Seeing Target scale back on in-store DVD sales isn’t surprising, based on my last trip to a Target store. There, the store had a sizable display of vinyl records, but not much of a DVD selection (mostly a few popular films and some holiday-themed children’s DVDs). Between this and the spokesperson’s remarks, my guess is the “select DVDs” will be Disney/Pixar animated films and a few major blockbusters (of the superhero film, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” variety).
What stores are left selling DVDs?
While it’s nice to see Target isn’t completely going the route of Best Buy (yet), it still marks a major blow to those wanting to buy physical media. That pretty much leaves Walmart (and bookstore chain Barnes and Noble) as the main in-store ways to buy DVDs at a national retailer. Otherwise, DVD/Blu-ray buyers are pretty much stuck with buying discs online.
On a related note, I see techies/home theater enthusiasts online upset at articles that mainly use the term “DVDs” in articles about DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K discs. That’s because typing out the short term “DVDs” is easier than repeatedly typing (especially on a smartphone) “DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K discs,” hyphen in “Blu-ray” and all.
“Target” by JeepersMedia is licensed under CC BY 2.0. (Flickr / cropped from original)
