British department store John Lewis announces that it will no longer sell DVD players once its stocks run out.
In a move that reflects the current landscape of home cinema, the retail store chain has likely sounded the closing bell for DVD players in the UK retail market. Sales of DVD players are down 40%, as consumers likely have less need for the ageing box underneath the TV in the wake of successful streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
It’s not a surprising move. DVD players have been available for over twenty years and feel rather stodgy among shinier, newer tech. Considering how ubiquitous they’ve become, it’s surprising to remember that the first units burned a hole in your wallet if you were an early adopter, with prices reaching up to £600 or more. Nowadays you can get them for around £20.
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John Lewis has said that it will continue to sell Blu-ray players and 4K players, both of which can play DVDs so physical media isn’t disappearing anytime soon. And Argos will continue selling DVD players in its stores, so while Digital Versatile Disc appears to fading away, you’ll still be able to buy DVDs and DVD players from a number of stores if you’re inclined to do so.
That wasn’t the only titbit of news to make it out of the retail chain’s annual shopping trend report. 55in TVs were the most popular screen size sold through its stores, jumping up considerably from the 36in TVs that were in vogue eight years ago. Interestingly, during the football World Cup in Russia, 70in TVs saw of the biggest rise in sales for the retailer.
Source: BBC news
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
