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Ask Slashdot: How To Make a DVD-Rental Store More Relevant?
smi.james.th writes "Here on Slashdot, the concept that older models of business need to be updated to keep with the times is often mentioned. A friend of mine owns a DVD rental store, and he often listens to potential customers walk out, saying that they'd rather download the movie, and not because his prices are unreasonable. With the local telco on a project to boost internet speeds, my friend feels as though the end is near for his livelihood. So, Slashdotters, I put it to you: What can a DVD store owner do to make his store more relevant? What services would you pay for at a DVD store?"
My friend manufacturers and sells horse whips. With this trend towards horseless carriages he doesn't seem to sell as many as he used to. Does anybody have any ideas on how he can increase his business?
Time to find a new business. He's a buggy whip salesman in the era of automobiles.
The only possible way to survive is to develop a niche. Streaming services are usually pretty good for recent movies, but a lot of back catalogue stuff is hard to find. Specialize in the stuff that's out of print, rare, etc. But really, I'm hard-pressed to see how that business model would be sustainable as a primary income source in most communities. There simply isn't enough demand for the content, especially given the huge amount of material available through Netflix's mail catalogue.
Offer free DVD re-winding for the returned movies.
Obviously you are totally unaware that there are legal and reliable sites that make movies available online. Let's start with Netflix and Amazon, two services you apparently don't know about.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
All the video rental shops are closed, taking the video game rentals with them. I miss being able to rent a game instead of outright buying it. May not be a big enough market though.
Buying and reselling used games that don't cost as much as their brand new counterparts is something that people are sorely in need of. Maybe credits for game rentals with a trade-in instead of cash?
Even if you don't charge much less, charging $20-25 for a used game opposed to the $40-50 EB and Gamestop charge might drive some business away from them and towards your friend.
Compute how much these new internet business models actually cost you in the long term. Send them a bill for potential losses.
MPAA and RIAA do it all the time!
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
There is pretty well nothing you can do save radically change your business model. Get some rooms set up with very nice projectors, seating, sound systems, etc and let people rent them to have a private screening of some movie, for example (remember to have concessions). That, or find some other way to capitalize on your library of DVDs to make money. Make copies of DVDs for people who can show that they owned said DVD, maybe.
Well, people who come to a DVD shop presumably want to rent DVDs...which means that perhaps they're not comfortable with the latest tech, even if - as you quote - many say they would rather download the film. My experience with DVD shops has been that they are pretty miserable places, which make most of their profit from overdue fees.
Make a comfy place with 'cult' DVDs to hire, plus give advice on ways to upgrade your home cinema. Sell overpriced coffee.
Come up with creative-funny gift ideas (Christopher Walkin Box set, Chuck Norris Box set),Sell retro computer games(similar shelving), Lend the book that goes with the movie, gather other good info with the movie, Have amazing memorabilia that will attract people into the store (celebrity death masks aren't always expensive), Like an art space, do other things to attract people there: small indie-video screenings, movie discussions, director talks. Put on a local TV show discussing movies coming out on DVD.
If your friend is running a successful business, then he's got a particularly useful and uncommon skill.
Some 80% of all first businesses fail, but only 20% of second businesses fail. That's because after the first business, you learn from your mistakes. Your friend has the skills and experience needed to start a new business - and that's what he should do.
So, what's trending on the map right now? What brick-and-mortar establishments are on the rise?
How about setting up a hackerspace? These seem to be popping up everywhere, and unlike McDonalds, there's still room for more.
While running the 'space, keep an eye out for things that might be products. With a hackerspace available it's easy to "test the waters" for a new tech product: you have access to people with skills for design, construction, [website] sales, and so on.
What they don't have is someone who can steer the ship, someone who has experience in things like incorporating, taxes, management, planning, accounting, and so on.
Consider starting a hackerspace. I hear that they can be successful and lots of fun.
I actually might be qualified to answer this since my business partner and I are in this very scenario and we have already made adjustments that have had a real positive impact.
My partner's dvd rental store has been in business and at the same location for over 16 years. During that time, Blockbuster gave it a run for TEN years directly across the street, but closed down 2 years ago. He began supplementing the business by becoming a wireless dealer and bill payment station. Here in Houston, multipurpose shops are EVERYWHERE and are VITAL in small, mostly Hispanic communities, so in order to compete, your store must offer all or at least some of the following: Phone service, phone cards (for international calling), bill payment such as local utilities and cable, Western Union, MoneyGram, money orders, copies, fax service, etc...
We recently began offering computer repairs and upgrades in addition to the cell phone repairs and he has quite a bit of retail space dedicated to not only popcorn, candy and soda, but even chips, sweets, fortune cookies, designer fragrances, and tons of accessories.
This may seem crazy to a lot of readers here, and it's certainly a lot to juggle for a store owner, but the truth is, he has been a staple in the community for so long that our customers keep finding reasons to come in. Sure, they still rent dvds, but they really come for the multitude oi other helpful services we offer.
Slashdot isn't the best place to ask because most of us have bought into digital distribution. We are unlikely to be the video store's target audience so we aren't the best people to ask.
Your friend also has some challenges because copyright laws limit his options. A lot of things that could be done would be illegal or require a lot of paperwork because it would be considered a public showing (e.g. previews, a showing room for private events).
Yet they may be able to transition their business if they are into film. This could be tied to tangible products or people oriented. They could try to sell the hardware to show movies, provide a forum to discuss them, or even provide a hub for people who want to produce independent films.
There are a lot of other ways to adapt. The key though is to talk to the people who matter: the customers who would actually use the service.
- wide selection of movies and TV shows, stuff you won't find elsewhere or downloadable via torrents, like lesser known foreign and independent movies, the place is huge.
- enough copies of popular movies so you can almost always get what you went there for
- blu-ray, DVD, VHS (!), Xbox 360, Wii, etc., whatever you and your family needs, it's there
- two for one days on slower nights of the week and other coupons for the past decade brings plenty of people into the outlet
- extras are sold off at a good price when they're no longer rented
No they haven't. It was legal to download movies and music (software and games usually wasn't), but that changed like 10 years ago in most european countries. They do pay extra cost on certain products but that doesn't mean downloading would be legal now.
If you are in a small town, specializing in out of print or hard to find catalogs probably won't be enough to survive... Kinda how record stores are restricted to large metro areas.
But here are some ideas:
Get a post office account and offer pre-paid mail-in returns. It will take some doing to ensure the packaging is light and small enough to keep mailing costs down, but it would make it far more convenient to rent.
Allow reservations online.
Open a small pizza pro or similar franchise in the corner of the store so people can grab dinner and a movie all at once.
Sell esoteric candy and theater popcorn, for the same reason, but at reasonable prices.
Buy and sell used DVDs. Take the movie home and keep it? Just 12.99-19.99 depending on the movie. Bring it back? Then just the rental fee. Look at what Vintage Stock / Movie Trading Company is doing, where the buy-in price is determined by software that looks at the current stock across all stores vs the past few months of sales. More popular movies or really rare ones are worth more, and thus entice people to bring them in.
Buy and sell game systems, used and new.
Offer disc resurfacing services for damaged discs.
If your market supports it, buy and sell Vinyl records, including new releases that come with digital downloads.
Offer home theater consulting services, offer training on what surround sound is or how to build your own HT setup.
Make sure the store is a fun/inviting environment to be in: have couches setup and the latest game systems available to play, have a kiosk with IMDB so people can easily lookup who was in what movie (bonus points if you can hookup Google voice search API to it so its voice controlled). Become an Apple authorized reseller/service center. Sell cables/adapters, the AppleTV, and demo AirPlay to people, etc.
I'm sure you could think of others. If people feel comfortable and want to spend time in your store, they'll be much more likely to purchase something.
These are just a few ideas that spring to mind.
Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
There are tons of movies and TV series that just aren't available on Netflix or Amazon for rental.
Yes - And purchasing these items (licensed for rental) is expensive for a rental shop. Having 'Misfits of Science' available for rental for the one geek per year who might ask for it is not good business.
Something useful rather than "just close":
My problem with DVD rental now is the amount of choice. Back in Chicago there was this AWESOME place called specialty video. Loved it. Problem was, they had so many good and rare movies that I would walk out without renting because I couldn't decide. Hundreds of movies, and what the internet does now is narrow down the frustration of making a choice. It gives us a handful of movie ideas and we can pick one if we want.
Also, there are definitely DVDs that we cannot get online, lots of them. I say market to the cinephiles, the people looking for the rare gems. Get online.
I really think that dvd rental has a place still. I like going someplace like that, but the interface could use some updating IMO
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Not sure how much floor space your friend has but..
Coffee shop
Sell books, comics/manga, magaines
Study pods/counters
Rent or sell music cds and live concert dvds
Sell not rent
Rent game consoles
have screens showing trailers of new films
Contract with indies to sell theirs
If it is in a major location, special events for example a director gives a talk
Link with film festivals
Allow people to watch any films in the shop, plus some streaming accounts, on large screens in the shop - you can just charge per hour and let people try titles one after another
Look at the kind of films that get shown on MUBI.
Write reviews / recommendations for titles, like in book stores
Sell hardware like ebook readers, cameras, hard disks
Sell fun and funky products
Provide cheap or free coffee or other drinks/eats like in a movie theater
Provide books about cinema to get people interested in huge world of film
Go after foreign film genres, both classic and contemporary. For example Japanese film, Finnish film, Mexican film, French Film.
Put up great movie posters. Not just cheapo sci-fi flix. French posters are often well done.
Sell audio books and classical/jazz too, your audience doesn't have to be just little kids, these are popular among older people for car and for home listening. My parents put audio books in the car and also into an ipod for listening at home for my father.
Could bring in other crowds - older people, people who are into design, art and architecture, people who are into looking for new films instead of watching the same ones over and over
Sell sets of classic movies, like hitchcock or car grant, etc.
Sell sets of movies like 007, etc.
When a new film is out in theaters, sell or rent all the films that director or lead actor/actress has made.
Make a members card that gives you discounts
Tie up with other businesses
Make new "film festivals" or "Now Showing xxxx" events every week or month
(I think this is fair use...) Offer to load ipod with music the person rents, then they don't have to bring the CD back to you..
Rent high quality equipment for people who want to make their own films, or provide studio space for band to record or something to engage community and people who are enthusiastic.
Engage film clubs (not sure if this works)
Research lots of films so people can always come to you to find them.
As bandwidth improves
It's not just burst bandwidth that has to improve but also sustained bandwidth. Several types of home Internet access, such as satellite and cellular, have acceptable burst bandwidth (in the high hundreds of Kbps to low Mbps) but unacceptable sustained bandwidth (typically less than 10 GB per month). That's not going to change until A. it becomes drastically cheaper to get rural areas wired for fiber, or B. the state subsidizes getting rural areas wired for fiber.
I recently spent a couple of days in Raton, NM. It's quite small but they have a thing there called the Whittington Center. It's a gigantic place to shoot, museum, store, and library on all things having to do with shooting. (How it got there is a fascinating political story that I'll leave for another day.) I'm retired and I love to shoot but it was that library that drew me in. I spent hours and hours there, finding new gems and old, every time I scanned a different shelf. I would literally consider moving to Raton just to have easy access to that specialty library...if it weren't for the fact that I spent enough time there to discover that Raton is an armpit of a place.
In the large metro area where I currently live there are a couple of niche stores that are doing at least OK. I can think of two stores that sell just vinyl records. I can think of one that rents rare DVDs, has an extensive anime section, even has some old stock on tape that never made it to disc, and sells a small selection of high-value, carefully-selected hardware to equip your home theatre. They have employees who seem to know *everything* and can make a dozen recommendations based on scanty evidence. I've brought three discs to the front counter and said "I've seen these. I liked them. What else would I like?" Within three minutes, an employee will have sprinted me around the store and put a dozen other titles in my hands (guaranteed I haven't even heard of half of them) and I can pick at random from that pile with no fear of disappointment.
I'm definitely willing to pay for that kind of service. It's just too bad I retired and I'm too far away from them to use them now. (In fact, I've been away for so long that I don't know if 2 of the 3 examples I just gave are still in business and I don't want the potential heartbreak of looking them up online to see if they still are.)
That brings me to my last point - location. Most DVD stores that were successful back in the day did so by being where there were the most people. Everybody was renting DVDs so you just had to be located where the most people were to be found. There were even DVD stores that did rentals inside major shopping malls.
Times have changed. Joe Average is no longer your customer. If the store in question is in a place with good traffic flow but no *specialty* traffic flow, then they're screwed, doubly so since not only is the customer base falling but the location rents are probably higher *because* of the good traffic flow.
The first idea that pops into my head is that specialty equipment stores that sell guns, weightlifting equipment, cosmetics, whatever, etc., tend to have a shelf somewhere with a couple of "how-to" discs to buy. The selection is always lousy and the discs are for purchase only. I wish someone would come up with a way to put a smaller, lower-tech version of a Red Box in every speciality store in the country. Said kiosk (or just a shelf of DVDs with bar-coded labels that somehow communicate with whatever vertical app the store is using to sell all their other stuff) would rent out "how-to" and specialty DVDs to those people who are interested in the goods sold by that particular store.
Wherever there's a successful brick-and-mortar store, there's the potential to sell and rent DVDs with highly-specialized content to the customers of those stores.
Why not abandon the "DVD store" concept? Bring the stock to the customers instead of making the customers come to the stock. I know one gun store that tried this with books and it failed but only because it took up too much room. On a per-square-foot basis, keeping a book store inside a gun store is stupid; there's so much more profit in just adding more display space for high-dollar-markup guns. With DVDs, though, we're literally talking less than two square feet of floor space for a tall, rotating rack.
Just an idea. I hate to see the OP's friend go out of business without at least an idea or two on the table.
I would add "reasonable subscription." Our local DVD rental store had a reasonable rate and we were allowed three DVDs out at one time. The movies of course were "two tier" -- older movies and new releases. Our subscription didn't include new releases. When they tripled the cost of the subscription, we cancelled it (and within two months the store was closed).
Here is Sarasota, FL, there's a place that's been around for a long time and continues to survive. Business is probably not what is was 10 years ago, but the last time I was in, I asked such questions. Before I learned much, I interrupted to ask about Terry, one of the guys who for the last decade (or two?) seemed inseparable from the place. Unfortunately he'd passed away. Terry Porter was a real wizard of film. Aside from being a kind and interesting fellow, I knew I never had to leave the store empty-handed if I could just vaguely describe a desired genre to him. All the folks who've worked there (or still do) exhibit an impressive knowledge of film. One advantage of the store is that for many years, they've specialized in difficult-to-find material, and I suspect that even in the age anything-you-want-right-now, they still have a few things up their sleeves one would struggle to find elsewhere.
That's about all I can say. Whether I've described their virtues well or not, they remain in the same location - with customers, but apparently without a website. I dug up their Faceclamp page and a news article on Terry; maybe between the two you'll find an idea.
Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
As these stores close, they will lose power and lose the ability to control the market like they have been.
You see, back in the 90s when HBO came out, these rental places were worried. So they brokered a deal to pay obscene prices for Videos before they went to HBO. $120 per VHS just so they could have it three months before. Now, there are deals with Video stores and HBO before they hit Netflix.
These guys are running scared and delaying the inevitable. I would develop a content box and sell that with a sub to Netflix/Hulu if I wanted to stay viable in the industry. Make it allow updates to provide additional services like music services or other streaming services as they come out.
If not, might as well close the store.
Actually the buggy whip business isn't dead, but has turned into a niche market. A quick google search revealed http://www.jedediahsbuggywhip.org/sales.nxg which goes after the accurate period reproduction whips and repairs and has been in business since 1851. A different company has gone after the modern market with LED buggy whips (for visibility at night). The advantage is that these stores can reach a national market from a centralized location (much like Netflix).
The real solution is to redefine the business using the existing customers as a base...video game rentals, snack food/beer with a side of video. But it's a pretty tough challenge in a saturated retail market with not a lot of IP other than a customer list, knowledge of movies and location.
All of the go niche posts are going to lead to tears. I keep seeing do anime, or do unusual scifi, or become and expert service, book/movie clubs. The trouble I see here is these all rely on exclusivity and digital media by its very nature defies that.
It might be true that today none of the big streaming services is quite all things to all people but the market is speaking pretty clearly. The horse has left the barn some combination of streaming and digital downloads are the future video distribution, at least as far as entertainment is concerned.
All the nice plans will require a major investment, and the corner video store guy is not going to be able to negotiate any kind of license exclusivity. All it would take is one of the big streaming players to get some blanket license agreements for the big content players ( who own the rights to much of the independent and historical stuff one way or another ) and suddenly his very narrow selection of customers is gone to greener pastures. In the meantime he will have invested lots of capital into assets of little or no residual value.
Personally I think his best bet if its good retail space is sell off library and lease or sublet the shop to someone interested in operating a business of some kind fit for the modern era.
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Videomatica in Vancouver was (is?) famous for their foreign films and back catalogues and were staffed by movie buffs.
They had talked about closing up, but checking them just now (redirects to new site), they've closed their flagship store and are sharing a location with a record store.
They'd been in business for some 25 years or so, yet had to downscale their location in a reasonably large city just to keep the doors open. And I think they were popular Canada-wide for those really hard to get rentals among people willing to pay shipping...
Your friend might be able to get some ideas by looking at how they adapted to the times.
PS Tried to post this before, still have the "Working" throbber on my screen; apologies if it's a repeat.
Use rfid or other tech so that when someone is leaving with movies, they are automatically logged and displayed. This is what you will be billed for starting now.
Bill by the day.
Make it easy to purchase the movies as an alternative to returning them. Take advantage of lazy purchasing.
Keep a computer terminal up and locked on IMDB so people can look up the movie or find a movie they remember.
Have three return bins. Liked it, hated it. Defective. Let your customers vote on which movies to keep in stock.
Make it easy to order movies for purchase an put on their account. Take advantage of impulse purchasing.
Dont ever ever ever ask them to sign up for an additional type of membership. Always a downer.
Make it so that they never leave without a movie. Have a "are you feeling lucky" freebie movie.
stress the importance and worth of the special features (which are unavailabe on streaming)
Dont waste shelf space with all your titles flat. Keep one face up, the rest on edge.
Dont be prudes
Stock movies you would watch. Dont stock movies you could never stand to watch. Be a good place to find good movies.
seriously, this was my first and only thought.
Offer blowjobs. Why? Because frankly, I have physically touched a DVD maybe 3 times in the past year. I don't buy them anymore, I don't use them. The vast majority of media that I consume comes through my internet feed.
I just don't see these coming back, I am sure they have some niche for some people but, short of removing the net from people's homes? Blojobs is your most realistic answer; that or location....locate the store some place where this is not true and people still need DVDs for entertainment....beyond what the red vending machines at the supermarkets and discount dvd bins provide.... where people can't afford cable with on demand content.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"