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Just like video killed the radio star, kiosks like Redbox could be spell doom for brick-and-mortar video rental stores. Consider this: for the first time ever, DVD and Blu-ray flicks rented from Redbox and other standalone kiosks claim a larger share of the market than retail store rentals, according to NPD Group.
"The rental landscape for DVDs and BDs continues to shift, and consumers are obviously responding positively to the perceived value and convenience of kiosks," said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD. "Traditional video retailers will no doubt experience even more competition in the coming year, as kiosks appear more frequently in grocery store chains, mass merchandisers, and quick-serve restaurants, and as competition intensifies from an assortment of on-demand rental offerings."
NPD says kiosks increased its share by 10 percentage points from the third quarter of 2009 to the same period in 2010. Kiosks now account for 31 percent of all rentals, ahead of retail stores at 27 percent and trailing Netflix and other subscription services at 41 percent.
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RobbyDesmond
March 20, 2011 at 8:49pm
I think this is just the next step in the evolution of rentals. People find it more convenient to rent from kiosks that are placed on their daily itinerary rather than go to a dedicated rental shop. The effects of rental kiosks were seen by the Montreal rentals too but in less severe manner than in the US. This asks for a change in the rentals business in order to remain competitive.
Trebesan
January 17, 2011 at 3:18pm
Lets face it, the only brick-and-mortar stores left are Blockbuster. How many times have you gone in to one of their stores and said, "Hmm I have no clue what I want to watch tonight." So you proceed to browse the entire store until you find something that stands out to you or you ask another person/associate whats good. If you did that at a kiosk, you would upset everyone else behind you, and you could view maybe 15 or so films at a time. WITHOUT anyone else's opinion. (Plus, there's still two-to-three generations out there that are used to a storefront, not so much a kiosk, and much less a subscription.)
The idea for a perfect kiosk exists:
-A time delayed rental disc/file would be burned/copied at the kiosk(allowing for larger libraries, and no late fees)
-After said rental period, disc/file expires and is no longer playable.
-Kiosk would be able to download said file to your portable device (ipod, psp, phone)
The problem with all of that is not the technology. We have it, its here, No doubt there. Its Hollywood, they still refuse to let go of brick-and-mortar stores. Because lets face it, they make more money from sales, not rentals. The reason why good ole' BBuster gets big titles 28 days earlier to rent? Because they sell those same exact movies, and in high volumes too. Hollywood makes pennies off of rentals. With the market in decline they make even less from box office sales, you can see why they tighten the grip on companies such as Netflix and Redbox.
s1r 70nk
January 17, 2011 at 9:53am
Thats great and all, but what about older movies on DVD and Blu-ray? The kiosks can't hold everything. They are just loaded with the most recent and popluar movies. Were the old "brick-and mortar" movie retail stores have a wider and more interesting selection.
