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The Passing of an Era

24 Jan, 2011 By: Stephanie Prange

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It’s the passing of an era. The kiosk has taken the video store’s place in rental market share, according to The NPD Group, with subscription services such as Netflix holding the biggest chunk of the rental market.

Consumers no longer trek to the local video store to choose an evening’s entertainment at the same rate they did in the past. Instead, a disc or two just shows up in the mail, or mom picks up a $1 rental while buying groceries. The communal experience of going to the local video store with the family or a group of friends to see what’s available and to agree on entertainment for the night is no longer an integral part of the American zeitgeist. Perusing the recommendations of the local store clerks or asking the customer in the aisle next to you, “Have you seen this? Is it good?” are a thing of the past. Movie rentals are no longer a destination pursuit.

It’s been a gradual shift. My 12-year-old, who once recalled “those boxy things we used to watch movies on” (VHS), owned most of the movies she wanted to view. My 8-year-old doesn’t remember a time when movies weren’t on little discs. Neither of them really did what I did as a kid, which was to go with my parents or a group of friends to the local video store to pick a movie to see for the night.

Home entertainment is increasingly an individual pursuit. Dad might be watching an action flick on the big screen while Mom updates her Facebook page and the kids use the Web to chat with friends or stream a TV show on their phone.

Each time I pass the deserted Blockbuster location near my house, I feel a bit sad. No store has yet opened in the empty spot, which still sports the trademark blue and yellow paint. You can just make out the ghostly outline of the Blockbuster logo.

Perhaps the video store will have a second act. Blockbuster may yet reinvent itself as it comes out of bankruptcy. Certainly, there are scrappy independent rentailers who have managed to weather change and forge a business that coexists with kiosks and Netflix.

But I do think the era of the communal video store trip is waning. The competition for each family member’s eyeballs is pulling Mom, Dad and the kids in different directions. The exploding variety of entertainment available is making the habit of hitting the video store a thing of the past.

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