Small local video rental stores are having difficulty maintaining business with the expansion of Internet sales and accessibility in the entertainment industry, however there has been a few local successes.

With the boom of technology in recent years, many customers rent movies through Netflix or Redbox, where they can easily have the movie sent to them or make a quick purchase with no real commitment.

Since Netflix first came to me, customers have responded positively to the convenience of browsing through the website, selecting just about any movie they wanted and having it mailed to them without the time consuming trip to a local movie rental store, as well as the convenience of streaming movies.

Redbox has also increasingly become a very successful resource for renting movies as there is also no commitment forced on the customer other than the unwritten agreement to return the movie.

With large companies like Hollywood Video going out of business, it seems many consumers prefer more technologically advanced ways of receiving their movies.
As a result, stores like Blockbuster Video LLC have found ways to keep up with all the new changes in technology and society today.

Kelsey Smith, media representative for the Blockbuster Corporate Communications Department, has commented on the convenience of Blockbuster’s services.

“Whether a customer selects traditional stores, by mail, vending or digital download, Blockbuster is uniquely positioned as the only provider to deliver entertainment content across all channels—today and into the future,” said Smith.

Smith goes on to explain Blockbuster is also coming out with a Facebook application to make them even more accessible.

These efforts to take advantage of technological developments exhibit the versatility of the company and how it has led to its success.

Smaller companies have still found ways to remain successful without having to convert to a streamline or Redbox-like feature.

Hayward Video, a video rental store located in Downtown Hayward, has managed to keep sales up by offering a variety of movies, according to a sales associate of the store.

Business is a bit inconsistent, according to the sales associate, but with this economy it seems like everyone is hurting, so they are doing okay. Families still like to come in and rent movies together, she said.

Jessica Chan, another associate at Hayward Video, points out that stock in Netflix has gone down but sales in the store have been okay.

“Their stock went down because they were going to convert to streaming only. Their fees even increased too,” according to Chan, whereas Hayward only charges one initial fee which they refund right back to the customer.

Andres Miramontes, a 21-year-old CSU East Bay student, said, “I think people like to go to movie rental stores because you can go in and browse when you don’t really know what you want.”

Many students like Miramontes added there are additional factors to what consumers decide upon for services such as Netflix or video stores, with budget concerns many times overwhelming any other reasons.

“Not everyone has money to spend on the things it takes to get Netflix to play movies right on your TV,” Miramontes added. “I feel like poorer neighborhoods probably do better with stores than with streaming or Redbox.”

In the end, many say they will be watching to see how an evergrowing technology industry will affect local video stores, with growing economic woes holding their futures in the balance.