The retailer first piloted the dollar-per-night rental service at select Orlando, Fla., and Reno, Nev., 7-Eleven stores. To provide customers easy 24-hour access to the latest DVDs, redbox kiosks will be located primarily on the exterior of participating locations.
Redbox's ease [image-nocss] of use, both for customers and employees, made the service especially attractive to 7-Eleven, said Kevin Elliott, 7-Eleven senior vice president of merchandising, marketing and logistics. "This is another example of 7-Eleven's move to be more relevant to consumers seeking affordable entertainment. Redbox is yet another convenience 7-Eleven can offer customers and one that will not only save them time, but money."
According to Gregg Kaplan, chief executive officer of redbox, "By featuring the latest DVD rentals for $1 per night, redbox meets another specific need for busy 7-Eleven customersentertainment."
Customer Susan Gutentag said that she plans to drop her monthly DVD subscription service now that redbox has come to town. "Redbox is quicker and cheaper. I don't have to wait for a movie to be mailed or pay new release rental rates. And I don't have to take my grandkids to a video store where they are overwhelmed by the selection of movies. At 7-Eleven, it's easy, plus I can rent a movie at a place I already go to everyday without having to make a special trip to pick out a movie."
7-Eleven will promote its new service in a variety of ways starting late January. There will be special signs at stores on gasoline pumps, windows and pole signs. The company will cross-promote with redbox, which will market the partnership through grassroots efforts that may include email and text messages notifying local customers when redbox comes to 7-Eleven stores in their community.
Each fully automated redbox kiosk holds approximately 700 DVDs, representing up to 200 different new release movie titles. Consumers use a touchscreen to select a movie, swipe a valid credit or debit card and receive the movie. The service provides a receipt digitally, and any questions may be answered by calling the toll-free number on the machine.
Customers can keep the DVD for as long as they like for $1 per night plus tax, and return it to any of the more than 12,000 redbox locations nationwide via redbox's convenient rent and return anywhere policy. After 25 nights, rental charges cease and the DVD is the customer's to keep. For added convenience, customers may also visit www.redbox.com to choose their DVD online and pick it up immediately at the redbox location of their choice.
Redbox is the most recent addition to 7-Eleven's push to become an entertainment destination. Late last year, 7-Eleven began offering the most popular video games, prepaid game cards and DVDs for purchase at participating 7-Eleven stores.
Majority owned by Coinstar Inc., redbox is the largest kiosk provider of DVDs to rent with more than 12,000 locations nationwide. Coinstar's 4th Wall program for retailers addresses an area of the store generally found between the cash registers and front doors. Products and services that are part of the 4th Wall area provide convenience and value to consumers and enhanced revenue opportunity for retailers.
Oak Brook, Ill.-based Redbox Automated Retail LLC offers the redbox service at more than 12,000 locations nationwide, including select McDonald's restaurants, grocery stores and Wal-Mart, Walgreens and 7-Eleven stores in select markets. Redbox is owned by Coinstar, GetAMovie Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of McDonald's Corp.) and private investors.
Coinstar, Bellevue, Wash., offers solutions for retailers' front of store consisting of self-service coin counting, electronic payment solutions, entertainment services, money transfer and self-service DVD rental. The company's products and services can be found at more than 50,000 retail locations including supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchants, financial institutions, convenience stores and restaurants.
Dallas-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses approximately 7,600 7-Eleven stores in North America.
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