Best Buy plans to pull CDs from stores by July
Remember seeing aisles upon aisles of CDs when entering a Best Buy store? By summer, shoppers won’t see any CDs in U.S. stores.
The electronic retailer says it will start removing CDs from all U.S. stores starting July 1, according to a report from Billboard. The report says CD sales dropped 18.5 percent last year at Best Buy.
The CD inventory has been shrinking at Best Buy stores for at least 10 years. Billboard said Best Buy will continue to sell vinyl albums and turntables for at least the next two years. The move to digital streams in the music industry has reduced demand for physical products.
Also, Billboard reported major retailer Target may get out of the CD business. The report said Target has issued an “ultimatum” to music and video suppliers, saying it will carry inventory on a consignment basis or not at all.
Best Buy, which has at least five stand-alone stores in the Las Vegas Valley, is not the first retailer to dump CDs. Three years ago, Starbucks stopped selling CDs at its stores.
