DVD sales were spotlighted as a major growth area in a Products Intelligence Tour session where attendees heard that the category's Christian retail store sales increased 90% in the first six months of the year.

And while much of that rise was due to the phenomenal success of Fireproof, those sales accounted for only 750,000 of the 2.1 million units purchased through the end of June, said Bob Elder, executive vice president and chief operating officer at media agency Propeller Consulting. Discounting the Fireproof numbers, DVD sales had still risen by 23% year to date, he said.

Elder also traced how the category has changed since it began as children's viewing-based. In 2007, 74% of the top-selling videos were kids, with only 3% feature films. By last year, feature films accounted for 62% of the market, and the top three selling films of 2008 were all feature-length releases.

Meanwhile, a new subcategory is emerging that stores need to learn how to merchandise and market, Elder said, noting "inspiration short films" like Rob Bell's "Nooma" series. Retailers needed to rethink how they stock DVDs, he said. "They are still between the church resource section and the music section; we are not really sure what to do with this."

Retailers needed to categorize their DVDs in segments and better promote them. "The truth is most of the videos that are available to help build your category don't really have the awareness that a theatrical box office will bring; most of them are really good stories that are under-represented."

Elder said stores looking to develop DVD sales should build a category, build a team that knows the subcategories and major releases, and build an audience among shoppers. Staff could be informed about series by watching the trailers, to help them talk about the titles with shoppers.

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