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Wal-Mart to add Redbox DVD rental kiosks to most US locations

8 February 2008 0:25 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 11 comments

After trying out DVD rental kiosks from Redbox in a number of their locations in the U.S. since 2006, Wal-Mart executives are planning to add them to nearly all their stores. Besides providing a low cost way to make DVD rentals available from the world's largest retailer, it will also increase the number of Redbox kiosks deployed by 40%, compared to today.

"Wal-Mart is constantly adapting to meet changing customer needs. This year will bring changes to the look of many of our vestibules. Equipment placement will be based on customer demographics and our commitment to ensure we are not interrupting traffic flow into the store,� read a Wal-Mart statement, confirming that it will �shortly begin a rollout to all stores.�

�We just felt it was a perfect fit,� said Christopher Goodrich, a spokesman for Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Redbox. �We�re actually continuing to look at additional partners.�

With the kiosk market expanding rapidly, even more traditional brick and mortar operators like Blockbuster have their eyes on kiosks, although they appear to be focusing more on On-Demand burning, rather than just rentals. However, with the explosion in popularity of Redbox kiosks last year, expect to see more competitors trying to squeeze into this niche market.

Permalink to this article

Wal-Mart to promote Blu-ray in June (3 June 2008)

DVDPlay appoints new COO to increase kiosk presence in supermarkets (3 June 2008)

Redbox expansion continues in deal with Walgreens (28 February 2008)

American kiosks to invade Canada this year (19 February 2008)

Borders to add Digital Centers to stores (14 February 2008)

Redbox continues fast paced expansion (29 January 2008)

NBC gives away almost 10,000 tv episodes at CES (19 January 2008)

Verbatim will offer premium Qflix DVD media (16 January 2008)

Blockbuster's Keyes details company plans to become entertainment convenience store (10 January 2008)

Blockbuster raises Total Access prices again (21 December 2007)

Blockbuster wants Movielink to go mobile (28 November 2007)

Blockbuster to challenge Redbox in kiosk market (28 November 2007)

Redbox claims number one spot in U.S. DVD rental locations (27 November 2007)

Blockbuster CEO talks about upcoming plans for brick and mortar operations (17 November 2007)

Kiosk operator predicts massive expansion over next 3 years (17 November 2007)

Redbox kiosk presence expands to Walgreens stores (16 November 2007)

CinemaNow will offer CSS encrypted burning for movie downloads (7 November 2007)

Redbox extends its rental period (29 October 2007)

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Discuss this article!
sk8flawzz (Member) 8 February 2008 2:06
AHH if only they add HD DVD and Blu-ray titles to them at the same price! [ + quote]
maryjayne (Junior Member) 8 February 2008 8:24
Blockbuster is doomed. Where are they going to put their kiosks when they finally lauch the project? If Redbox puts kiosks at the Walmarts in my area, then there will be a Redbox at 95% of the major locations that I go. Even if Blockbuster puts a DVD burning kiosks next to the Redbox kiosks, the cheaper is going to get my sale. I dont see them charging less than $1 for a full length DVD with all the special features or even just the movie. [ + quote]
hm577 (Inactive) 8 February 2008 12:36
*Originally posted by maryjayne:* Blockbuster is doomed. Where are they going to put their kiosks when they finally lauch the project? If Redbox puts kiosks at the Walmarts in my area, then there will be a Redbox at 95% of the major locations that I go. Even if Blockbuster puts a DVD burning kiosks next to the Redbox kiosks, the cheaper is going to get my sale. I dont see them charging less than $1 for a full length DVD with all the special features or even just the movie. No doubt!! They just closed a location near my house not 3 weeks ago. I don't think they'll go out of business rather, I think they'll just have to close many stores around the country. I like BB. Much prefer that than taking a chance of renting a movie OUTSIDE (in the cold mind you) from a machine that very well may not have the title I'm looking for and in crappy condition at that. I've heard from many that Redbox requires that you get there at loco times to find a popular movie as they don't stock dozens and dozens of the new releases. This is only what I've heard and I have yet to use them myself. Anyone?? Anyone?? Feedback on those things?? [ + quote]
sk8flawzz (Member) 8 February 2008 12:38
*Quote:* *Originally posted by maryjayne:* Blockbuster is doomed. Where are they going to put their kiosks when they finally lauch the project? If Redbox puts kiosks at the Walmarts in my area, then there will be a Redbox at 95% of the major locations that I go. Even if Blockbuster puts a DVD burning kiosks next to the Redbox kiosks, the cheaper is going to get my sale. I dont see them charging less than $1 for a full length DVD with all the special features or even just the movie. No doubt!! They just closed a location near my house not 3 weeks ago. I don't think they'll go out of business rather, I think they'll just have to close many stores around the country. I like BB. Much prefer that than taking a chance of renting a movie OUTSIDE (in the cold mind you) from a machine that very well may not have the title I'm looking for and in crappy condition at that. I've heard from many that Redbox requires that you get there at loco times to find a popular movie as they don't stock dozens and dozens of the new releases. This is only what I've heard and I have yet to use them myself. Anyone?? Anyone?? Feedback on those things?? I figure theres a very limited quantity of any title in those small kiosks. I've never tried one myself though. [ + quote]
embo22000 (Newbie) 8 February 2008 12:51
No doubt!! They just closed a location near my house not 3 weeks ago. I don't think they'll go out of business rather, I think they'll just have to close many stores around the country. I like BB. Much prefer that than taking a chance of renting a movie OUTSIDE (in the cold mind you) from a machine that very well may not have the title I'm looking for and in crappy condition at that. I've heard from many that Redbox requires that you get there at loco times to find a popular movie as they don't stock dozens and dozens of the new releases. This is only what I've heard and I have yet to use them myself. Anyone?? Anyone?? Feedback on those things??[/quote You could go to http://www.redbox.com and see how many kiosks are near you and what movies are available at the time. Plus you could rent them online and pick em up afterwards that way you won't get there and somebody else has your movie. I rent at those kios most of the time and i've never gotten an unreadable dvd... [ + quote]
BLUESGUY (Newbie) 8 February 2008 14:55
Don't forget they will send you a text message every Monday for a FREE RENTAL>>> go to REDBOX.COM and sign up... [ + quote]
DXR88 (Member) 9 February 2008 20:55
Now all we need is a used school girl panty kiosk in wal-mart... this country is becoming more and more pethitic every day i wake up.. [ + quote]
knarl (Newbie) 9 February 2008 22:09
We've been using the Redbox kiosks for a while now. Works pretty good actually. You can view and select the rentals on-line and if the kiosk you normally travel to doesn't have it, you can select to find it elsewhere. We have at least 7 of the kiosks within about a 3 mile radius. I never liked the idea of the mail order scenerio and we find this service works well. Granted we're lucky if we watch two or three movies a month though, so it may not be for everyone. I personally don't see how that makes our contry pethetic but I guess there's always one in the crowd. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 10 February 2008 11:18
spivey8 (Newbie) 9 February 2008 22:43
REDBOX IS AWESOME... i get my free movie every monday and you can return it to Any redbox, plus you can rent your movie online and then go and get it. This way you can make sure you get the New Releases when they come out. 1 buck for a movie. Sorry Block BUSTer.. GOODBYE [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 2 April 2008 4:34
Blockbuster was already dead in the water from netflix the question is. Is this going to be able to compete with netflix's already dominant place in the market? [ + quote]
goodswipe (Inactive) 2 April 2008 15:08
Redbox compete with Netflix? Yea, Redbox is going to be able to hold their own, but they will never be able to dominate the market like Netflix has. I've also noticed that Redbox has become very popular within the last 6 months or so. Sometimes I've found myself waiting in line behind people. WTF? Waiting in line at a kiosk? Yes, and this is very frustrating because you will get some nuub that has no idea wtf they are doing when they get up there and slow the whole process down. I think the whole idea that the people behind Redbox were shooting for is that it's very fast, convenient, and also really cheap. "Hey, I'm getting a hamburger at McDonald's, I might as well get a movie...eww wait a sec, there's like 3 people in line...nevermind!" If they plan on continuing this, they need to DEFINITELY open up more kiosks so that people aren't waiting in line for too long. "look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing." [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2 April 2008 15:10