Rich Fiscus
8 Feb 2008 0:25
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.