Through the first half of 2009, the share of rental turnsthe number of DVDs rented by consumersreached 19% [image-nocss] for kiosks like Redbox, compared to 36% for Netflix and other subscription services and 45% for Blockbuster and other traditional brick-and-mortar video stores.
According to NPD's VideoWatch service, in the coming months both subscription services and traditional video retailers will experience even more competition from kiosks, which are becoming more ubiquitous in grocery stores, mass merchandisers and quick-serve restaurants (as well as convenience stores). Even so, a primary consumer appeal for subscriptions and store rentals is their depth of title selectiona key benefit that might help mitigate the increased competition from kiosks, which offer a more limited list of titles.
If current kiosk-category expansion plans are implemented, NPD anticipates that DVD rental kiosks will make up nearly 30% of U.S. video rentals next year. "Consumers are obviously responding positively to the perceived value of $1-per-day rentals, and they appreciate the convenience offered by video rental kiosks," said Russ Crupnick, vice president of industry analysis for NPD.
NPD's weekly VideoWatch tracks U.S. consumers age 13 and older who reported on their purchases and rentals of DVD and Blue-Ray disk (BD) titles.
The NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y., is a major provider of consumer and retail information for a variety of industries. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys and wireless.
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