Redbox pulls out of Canada... The exodus continues

[Xenocity 343]

It's official... U.S. company Redbox is leaving Canada.

 

For those who don't know what Redbox is, here is the dirt.

 

 

It is a video rental kiosk that costs $1 for one day rental.

It despenses the movie of your choosing after paying the fee.

Some also carry video games for a higher price.

 

They are highly popular everywhere but Canada...

 

The final day to rent a movie from Redbox Canada is February 13th!

The final day to return a rental is March 5th.

 

We were excited to bring our service here, but unfortunately, demand just didn’t meet our expectations. We will be focusing our attention on our U.S. business, where demand for physical media remains strong...

 

Is it due to Canadians hating all things American?

Or is it that Canadians don't like movies?

 

 

 

[Ocram's Razr 964]

This is funny to me.

--Ocram

[Haljackey 17,404]

Is it due to Canadians hating all things American?

Or is it that Canadians don't like movies?

 

We hate all American things!

 

We don't like movies!

 

Nah, in all honesty I can't be bothered with such a thing. Netflix is what killed it. Physical moves are pretty much a dying business. This is one casualty.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

I am pretty much of a shut-in.  I've never heard of this outfit, which considering my location is not surprising.  I've never even seen an ad for their service.  So "ave atque vale" redbox.

 

Oh, and for everyone's enlightenment, Netflix does not support Linux, so I still purchase movies I really want to see.  And the new Shomi service isn't supported in my area either.

[Easy Bakes 253]

 

Is it due to Canadians hating all things American?

Or is it that Canadians don't like movies?

 

We hate all American things!

 

We don't like movies!

 

Nah, in all honesty I can't be bothered with such a thing. Netflix is what killed it. Physical moves are pretty much a dying business. This is one casualty.

 

movies rental stores/Kiosks, record stores and book stores. the list of things that digital downloading/streaming has killed keeps growing.

I will miss the book stores

[Xenocity 343]

 

Is it due to Canadians hating all things American?

Or is it that Canadians don't like movies?

 

We hate all American things!

 

We don't like movies!

 

Nah, in all honesty I can't be bothered with such a thing. Netflix is what killed it. Physical moves are pretty much a dying business. This is one casualty.

 

Well at least someone admits it.

 

Phsyical sales of movies have leveled and aren't dying..

They just have found a natural market point.

Netflix is the one that is in danger as they are unable to compete against Amazon, Microsoft and Sony for content.

Movie studios are also reluctant to support Netflix.

ISPs are also throtttling Netflix all over the world, when they aren't blocking it.

 

 

Is it due to Canadians hating all things American?

Or is it that Canadians don't like movies?

 

We hate all American things!

 

We don't like movies!

 

Nah, in all honesty I can't be bothered with such a thing. Netflix is what killed it. Physical moves are pretty much a dying business. This is one casualty.

 

movies rental stores/Kiosks, record stores and book stores. the list of things that digital downloading/streaming has killed keeps growing.

I will miss the book stores

None of that is going to die unles they are mismanaged.

Many rental chains such as Family Videos are expanding and reporting profits alongside an increase in costumers.

 

Digital sales of music are falling as well as customers have stopped buying it.

These consumers haven't switched back to physical media either.

 

Movie streaming and downloading has leveled in growth.

 

Physical book sales have stablized as digital book sales have tanked.

 

The point is digital media isn't doing well etiher these days.

[Duke87 1,070]

Redbox primarily appeals to low-income customers who can afford $1 to occasionally rent a movie but cannot afford to sign up for a streaming service or to simply buy DVDs. It's a dingy clunky service but it's cheap.

 

The reason why it flopped in Canada, then, is that Canada doesn't have a huge supply of impoverished customers the way the US does, and Canadians unlike Americans will not willingly go for something that's a lousy customer experience simply because it's cheaper.

 

In a way it's a similar sort of issue with Target - simply being cheap is a great business model in the US. In Canada, that doesn't work.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Redbox primarily appeals to low-income customers who can afford $1 to occasionally rent a movie but cannot afford to sign up for a streaming service or to simply buy DVDs. It's a dingy clunky service but it's cheap.

 

The reason why it flopped in Canada, then, is that Canada doesn't have a huge supply of impoverished customers the way the US does, and Canadians unlike Americans will not willingly go for something that's a lousy customer experience simply because it's cheaper.

 

In a way it's a similar sort of issue with Target - simply being cheap is a great business model in the US. In Canada, that doesn't work.your right aboutthe

you right about the impoverished part.

Theres a red box in every walmart.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Speaking of recorded music, has anyone noticed the upswing in sales of vinyl recordings.  Seems people who are discriminating prefer analogue recordings to the limited digital efforts even with lossless protocols.

[Xenocity 343]

Redbox primarily appeals to low-income customers who can afford $1 to occasionally rent a movie but cannot afford to sign up for a streaming service or to simply buy DVDs. It's a dingy clunky service but it's cheap.

 

The reason why it flopped in Canada, then, is that Canada doesn't have a huge supply of impoverished customers the way the US does, and Canadians unlike Americans will not willingly go for something that's a lousy customer experience simply because it's cheaper.

 

In a way it's a similar sort of issue with Target - simply being cheap is a great business model in the US. In Canada, that doesn't work.

Target is not a cheap place to shop.

Target is middle end, while Walmart is cheap.

Hell Canadians regularly take buses across the border to just to go shopping at American Targets.

I've these buses since I live in border area.

You normally get 3-5 buses bringing over hundreds of Canadians for shopping.

 

Canadians are one of the biggest segments for Target outside of Americans in their 20s.

This is why Target thought it would be a good idea to bring the stores to them...

 

Redbox primarily appeals to low-income customers who can afford $1 to occasionally rent a movie but cannot afford to sign up for a streaming service or to simply buy DVDs. It's a dingy clunky service but it's cheap.

 

The reason why it flopped in Canada, then, is that Canada doesn't have a huge supply of impoverished customers the way the US does, and Canadians unlike Americans will not willingly go for something that's a lousy customer experience simply because it's cheaper.

 

In a way it's a similar sort of issue with Target - simply being cheap is a great business model in the US. In Canada, that doesn't work.your right aboutthe

you right about the impoverished part.

Theres a red box in every walmart.

 

There is also a Redbox in nearly ever American grocer and decent sized store.

At Near me:

• Meijer - a middle end grocer/market
• Kroger - a middle end grocer/market
• Walmart - hmm not sure how to classify the one near me since it is new and not cheaply done like the old ones.
• Target - middle end
• Hollywood market - just a small grocery chain
• The local university - college kids love cheap movies
• CVS - mainly just a pharmacy/mini mart
• Walgreens slightly better than CVS
• etc...

Redboxes are typically in high traffic areas.

 

Many people regardless of wealth love them because they are cheap and accessible.

They don't want to go to the library and hope they can get a new release even though it is free.

They don't want to use Netflix (or other services) and eat up their data and/or pay the price (if you only watch an occasional movie, it is much cheaper than Netflix)

They don't want to go to the local video store and pay $3-$5 for a new release or $3 for a newer movie, or $1-$3 for an older movie.

 

Most people just want to watch a movie once and be done with it.

[blade2k5 1,523]

 

Redbox primarily appeals to low-income customers who can afford $1 to occasionally rent a movie but cannot afford to sign up for a streaming service or to simply buy DVDs. It's a dingy clunky service but it's cheap.

 

The reason why it flopped in Canada, then, is that Canada doesn't have a huge supply of impoverished customers the way the US does, and Canadians unlike Americans will not willingly go for something that's a lousy customer experience simply because it's cheaper.

 

In a way it's a similar sort of issue with Target - simply being cheap is a great business model in the US. In Canada, that doesn't work.your right aboutthe

you right about the impoverished part.

Theres a red box in every walmart.

 

 

Is there now EB?  Sure about that?  That is simply not true.  No Wal-Mart I've been to has a redbox, you find those in front of grocery stores around here.

[LexusInfernus 908]

Netflix is the one that is in danger as they are unable to compete against Amazon, Microsoft and Sony for content.

Movie studios are also reluctant to support Netflix.

ISPs are also throtttling Netflix all over the world, when they aren't blocking it.

Except that Netflix is producing a bunch of high quality shows themselves, and the fees for it are pretty cheap. Its not necessarily a zero sum game, plenty of people can simply afford both Netflix and whatever Amazon is doing. As for Sony and Microsoft, what exactly do they offer in terms of content and where? Do they even have their own streaming services? 

 

And I'm pretty sure that in the countries where Netflix operates net neutrality is still the ruling principle. ISP's can't throttle Netflix, nor can they block it. If Netflix isn't available in your country, its not the fault of the ISP's, its because Netflix just isn't operating in your country yet. 

[blade2k5 1,523]

 

 

Is it due to Canadians hating all things American?

Or is it that Canadians don't like movies?

 

We hate all American things!

 

We don't like movies!

 

Nah, in all honesty I can't be bothered with such a thing. Netflix is what killed it. Physical moves are pretty much a dying business. This is one casualty.

 

Well at least someone admits it.

 

Phsyical sales of movies have leveled and aren't dying..

They just have found a natural market point.

Netflix is the one that is in danger as they are unable to compete against Amazon, Microsoft and Sony for content.

Movie studios are also reluctant to support Netflix.

ISPs are also throtttling Netflix all over the world, when they aren't blocking it.

 

 

Is it due to Canadians hating all things American?

Or is it that Canadians don't like movies?

 

We hate all American things!

 

We don't like movies!

 

Nah, in all honesty I can't be bothered with such a thing. Netflix is what killed it. Physical moves are pretty much a dying business. This is one casualty.

 

movies rental stores/Kiosks, record stores and book stores. the list of things that digital downloading/streaming has killed keeps growing.

I will miss the book stores

None of that is going to die unles they are mismanaged.

Many rental chains such as Family Videos are expanding and reporting profits alongside an increase in costumers.

 

Digital sales of music are falling as well as customers have stopped buying it.

These consumers haven't switched back to physical media either.

 

Movie streaming and downloading has leveled in growth.

 

Physical book sales have stablized as digital book sales have tanked.

 

The point is digital media isn't doing well etiher these days.

 

 

 

Kinda funny about that, that hasn't happen with me yet and I can watch Netflix all day long with no issues whatsoever.  That and there are two TVs in the house that have Netflix hooked up, mine and my Son's and both can be streaming simultaneously and still no issues.  Probably one of the reasons is because I don't have internet service through Verizon, Comcast or TW, three companies I'll never do business with.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I find this exodus of companies from Canada to be funny. My reasoning is below.

With $2 gasoline, Keystone XL being impossible under the current president, environmental activists blocking bitumen trains in Washington, environmental scientists saying that a great deal of untapped fuel can NEVER be used if we are to avoid a certain benchmark in greenhouse gas emission-caused warming, Canada's bitumen sands won't be exploited for long. Between that and many companies completely pulling out of Canada, I have one thing to say, "Good luck, Canada; you will need it!" I only wish that the United States was able to utilize certain systems as good or better than Canada. I also wish that the FCC and anti-trust portions of the US government went after Comcast's illegal schemes and made internet access better. I will never pay for a Comcast service. If I ever send money to my family or pay their utility bills, I will switch all of them off Comcast. My mother doesn't even use OnDemand that often anymore. She shared my Amazon Prime account for a while and she still shares her friend's Netflix account.

--Ocram

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

^Ocram!  What has that last post got to do with the title of this thread?  Perhaps you should ask a moderator to move it to where you intended to make it?

[Compdude787 916]

Kinda funny about that, that hasn't happen with me yet and I can watch Netflix all day long with no issues whatsoever.  That and there are two TVs in the house that have Netflix hooked up, mine and my Son's and both can be streaming simultaneously and still no issues.  Probably one of the reasons is because I don't have internet service through Verizon, Comcast or TW, three companies I'll never do business with.

 

Oh, our family has Comcast, and I've never really noticed any throttling with Netflix. Neither have I experienced any throttling on YouTube, and I go on YouTube quite a lot. I can watch videos in 1080p HD with no problem and I've never had to wait for them to buffer.

[blade2k5 1,523]

 

Kinda funny about that, that hasn't happen with me yet and I can watch Netflix all day long with no issues whatsoever.  That and there are two TVs in the house that have Netflix hooked up, mine and my Son's and both can be streaming simultaneously and still no issues.  Probably one of the reasons is because I don't have internet service through Verizon, Comcast or TW, three companies I'll never do business with.

 

Oh, our family has Comcast, and I've never really noticed any throttling with Netflix. Neither have I experienced any throttling on YouTube, and I go on YouTube quite a lot. I can watch videos in 1080p HD with no problem and I've never had to wait for them to buffer.

 

 

 

A lot of others who do have comcast and the others mentioned have.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

A lot of the throttling must depend on the local nodes.

[Compdude787 916]

A lot of the throttling must depend on the local nodes.

Where I live, Comcast has competition with Frontier FiOS. Thus, they actually have an incentive to provide better service to their customers. Competition is a great thing!