The fact that more people now get their movies from a kiosk than a retail store is not shocking, given the downfall of Blockbuster, but it’s still noteworthy. According to the USA Today story below, in the third quarter of 2010, “subscription rental services like Netflix still represent the lion’s share of video rentals – 41% in the third quarter of 2010 – but… kiosk rentals are now in second place at 31%, just ahead of in-store rentals at 27%.”
Just five years ago that stat would have sounded absurd!
The story also points to Redbox as the main reason Blockbuster’s in-store rental business is finished, and notes that Blockbuster’s new strategy is to copy them, not Netflix.
Movie rental kiosks more popular than retail stores