The dirt has barely settled on the grave of Toshiba’s HD-DVD and already major retailers are chomping at the bit to reap the benefits of Blu-Ray’s victory. Walmart is also jumping on the party train, having a week-long Blu-Ray extravaganza from June 8 to June 14.

According to eWeek, Walmart will be offering a few interesting deals in that time frame. If you are in the market for a Blu-Ray player (and aren’t interested in a much more versatile Playstation 3), Walmart will be handing out $100 gift cards along with your player purchase.

Additionally, Walmart will be offering discounts on a few select Blu-Ray discs, with “3:10 to Yuma,” “300,” and “Shooter” all being reduced to $15.

Though discounts and gift cards are lovely, would-be Blu-Ray customers might be surprised to find a rather lacking collection of Blu-Ray discs in Walmart’s electronic section. Last time I found myself in a Walmart (for reasons that will remain undisclosed), I think the selection of Blu-Rays was so slim, the only ones that seemed remotely interested were the aforementioned to-be-discounted titles.

Things like library selection are what will differentiate successful Blu-Ray retailers from ho-hum retailers. Best Buy has a fantastic selection, and offers discounts much more frequently than Walmart’s one week bonanza. That’s why I might stop by Walmart for “3:10 to Yuma,” but after that, I’ll be back at Best Buy.

This isn’t a Best Buy advertisement, but I think it is important to note that retailers need to really up their games if they want to take advantage of the hot Blu-Ray technology. Show me discounts like $15 a disc or 2 for $30 on a frequent basis and you’ll land business.

Consumers want to adopt the technology, but sticker shock for both players and discs will hold back adoption if steady discounts aren’t given to ease the wallet-conscious.

Related:

Entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 8:01 pm under Advertising.

Read more entries by Triston McIntyre.
Stumble It!