Movie Rental Firms | Another Technological Casualty

Internet leaves several businesses in wake

It’s starting to sound like a broken record. Music retail is dying because of the Internet. Print newspapers are dying because of the Internet. Movie rental places are dying because of the Internet.

Virtual monopoly

Successful business ventures like Netflix and iTunes have left their more traditional counterparts — brick and mortar stores that sell CDs and rent out movies — struggling to stay in business. People are turning to the Internet for just about everything nowadays, including online payday  loans.

Bad times for Blockbuster

Movie rental giant Blockbuster is the latest example of this struggle. The country’s most famed and recognizable rental organization has hired advisers to instruct it on how to restructure.

Convenience trumps all

It’s easy to see what has caused people to stop going to video rental stores. There are so many options for watching streaming video online. cable companies offer movies you can order on your TV for the same price as renting them, without the trip to the store.

Then, of course, there is Netflix. Why would anyone pass up the opportunity to have movies delivered right to their door?

Tough luck for the little guys

Independent video rental stores are dealing with the same problems. One store owner in Seattle added another trial to that list: winter.

“You can throw a million ideas out there, and you won’t get folks out of their homes. They’re hibernating,” said Scarecrow Video owner Mark Steiner.

Lucky breaks

Movie Madness memorabilia in Portland.

It seems the only way to survive as a real, live physical store might be to have some sort of a schtick. Movie Madness, an independent video rental store in Portland, Ore., still gets plenty of customers. However, it has more than videos.

The owner began collecting movie memorabilia a few years ago, and now the place is more of a museum than just a rental store. Things such as the lavender dress Diane Keaton wore in “The Godfather: Part II” and a suit Austin Powers wore keep customers lining up to gawk.