Hooray for Hollywood
01/29/2010There is no doubt that by now, a slew of traditional movie rental stores have fallen victim to the novelty, convenience, and low price of the RedBox. Even though if a customer were to keep a RedBox video for the same amount of time as a store rental, the prices of each would probably end up about even.
We just discussed the RedBox less than a year ago, so why bring it up again? Well, in today’s mail, I received an ad from Hollywood Video. Sign up for a discount plan and get rentals for $1 each, with no late fees and no return date. Intrigued, I checked their site for more information (http://hollywoodvideo.com/offers.aspx). Much like a movies-by-mail subscription service, such as Netflix, customers pay a monthly fee, then receive “points” to redeem for rentals. After reviewing the details, I found myself not completely convinced that it was a great deal, but then again, I don’t rent a lot of movies. That being said, I have experienced a marked increase in the frequency that I rent movies since there is a vending machine in the front of my local supermarket. And outside of the next closest supermarket. And at the Wal-Mart. And at…you get the idea. This gal is stuck on the machines, at least for now.
It is interesting to see each company’s efforts to combat the vending machine rental. It’s certainly an increasingly competitive market. There is no doubt that standard rental storefronts have a greater selection, but the 24-hour, no fuss machines are not only inexpensive (even free with promotional codes offered in anticipation of customers keeping the rentals for over one day), but incredibly convenient, being in high-traffic locations, with round-the-clock access. The machines are definitely nipping away business from the storefronts, but I’d be interested to see how many RedBox fans would be making way to a Hollywood or Blockbuster if the machines did not exist.
christine.papesch@veii.com
