UK supermarket chain Tesco will begin to end the sale of CDs and DVDs in its stores, insider sources have revealed.
A tip provided to Film Stories suggests that the company will no longer take stock of new physical media, with stores expected to have sold or disposed of all remaining products by the end of February 2022.
“We will reduce lines of entertainment, electric and general merchandise toys. read an internal Tesco communication obtained by Film Stories. The memo allegedly makes a specific reference to "remove CDs and DVDs."
The move comes after Sainsbury's announced a similar policy around the sale of physical media last year, with the 2021 Christmas season marking the chain's latest push to sell its remaining CD, DVD and Blu-ray stock. .
Although Blu-ray discs aren't mentioned by name in Film Stories' report on Tesco's decision, it's also likely to come into conflict with the chain's mass removal of physical media from its stores.
LaComparacion understands that video games will not be included in the movement.
New life ?
It remains to be seen whether this signaled move by Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, will spell the end of physical media products like CDs and DVDs.
On the one hand, Amazon and HMV are still committed to the physical media market despite the widespread shift to digital streaming, and Tesco's eventual removal of CDs and DVDs could simply force consumers who remain interested in these products to buy elsewhere.
However, it's no secret that the CD and DVD industries as a whole have endured a torrid decade. Wired recently reported that only 300 million DVDs are expected to have been sold worldwide in 2021, compared to an average of 2 billion each year between 2005 and 2009.
Still, the arrival of 4K and Ultra HD DVD content remains an attractive proposition for many moviegoers in 2022, especially as TV display technology also continues to improve.
Also, while CDs have largely been phased out by streaming music services, they could experience a cultural renaissance like the one vinyl has enjoyed in recent years.
In December 2021, The Guardian reported that vinyl sales were up 8% from 2020 figures, marking the 2007th consecutive year of growth since 1990. By the end of the year, vinyl accounted for nearly one in four vinyl purchases. albums, the highest ratio since XNUMX. .
Perhaps then CDs will benefit from the same nostalgic boom. With traditional DVDs, they could soon have the same hazy look as their 12-inch counterparts.
Don't expect to find them in Tescos any longer.