Sales of CDs on the Wildberries marketplace increased by 70% in physical terms in 2026. This was reported to TASS on March 18 by the press service of the united company Wildberries and Russ. A significant part of the CDs sold contains music in MP3 format, not classic audio tracks. Sales of portable MP3 players are also growing: in January — March 2026, turnover increased by 25% compared to the same period last year, the average check — by 13%. According to M.Video, in the period from March 2 to March 16, sales of MP3 players in Moscow increased by 5% in quantitative terms year-on-year.
CDs and MP3 players: who buys and why
The growth in sales of physical media and stand-alone players is taking place against the backdrop of a slowdown in foreign streaming services and restrictions on mobile Internet in Russia. A CD and MP3 player provide music playback completely autonomously — without the Internet, "white lists" and subscriptions.
A separate segment is HiFi portable players with a price of up to 50 thousand rubles — for playing "high resolution" music. Their growth dynamics are higher than that of ordinary MP3 players, but we are talking about piece goods for audiophiles, and not about the mass market, the RVB noted.
The growth in CD sales on one marketplace is a statistically significant signal. Physical media were considered a dying format: in the 2010s, they were supplanted by streaming services. The return of interest in CDs and stand-alone players in 2026 reflects a demand for independence from the network infrastructure — in conditions where this infrastructure is becoming less and less predictable.
