Best Buy named leading high-def retailer

too bad Frys Electronics isn't nationwide!

Best Buy has emerged as the leading retailer of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD titles by a wide margin, easily topping DVD-dominant Wal-Mart, according to the NPD Group.

Wal-Mart carries a third-place share of the high-definition software market, followed by Circuit City and Target. Amazon.com sits in second.

NPD declined to report specific unit sales shares for each of the retailers but noted that Best Buy is far in front. Amazon.com and the rest are mostly clustered together for the second through fifth spots.

Best Buy’s fanboy and fangirl consumer base, coupled with its commitment to customer service, has boosted the chain’s high-def performance, said Brian Lucas, spokesman for the chain.

“We generally have an audience that loves movies, where they are not casual fans, and these people are likely to have a great home theater experience,” said Lucas. “As one of the market leaders in HDTV sales, our customers tend to understand high-def more than the average consumer.”

Lucas noted that Best Buy’s ‘blue-shirt’ staff regularly talk to customers about the incompatibility between Blu-ray and HD DVD, and he said that honesty has encouraged consumer interest in high-def.