It’s been a season of uncertainty for Redbox, with leadership changes at its parent company and a slowly declining DVD rental market. At least one analyst, however, is bullish about Redbox’s most recent fiscal quarter, which ends today and will be reported on in a few weeks.
Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter believes that Redbox’s recent price increase and new customer loyalty program, Redbox Play Pass, will produce strong results.
Regarding the new Play Pass program, Pachter wrote the following:
“We believe this program gained traction during the winter, when rental activity is typically high,”
Pachter is also optimistic that Redbox’s price hike will yield positive results:
“Given the company’s price increases, we believe that price elasticity of demand drove [rental] volumes down by 10% -15%, and think that Redbox may comp up in the high single digits,”
What do you think, Insiders? Is Pachter right, and will Redbox turn in some stellar numbers for this quarter?
[via Home Media Magazine]
No! They have closed all the Box’s way up North..
And that cost them some good $$. Then they had to up the price a bit..
They are still not making much if anything.. Time will tell.
I for one have stopped using the Box.. As millions have.
As much as I hate to admit this…
Dano is correct!
I am not saying RedBox can’t make it.
But everything I have seen over the last few years does not look good.
How long can the bleed money?
Right now that is what they are doing. The streaming deal went under.
They had to take a nice hit on that. Then closing all the Box’s way up north. One more big hit. All this cost them millions on end.
I just ask myself. How much money can the bleed until it runs out?
Are they going the Block Buster road? Time will tell.
APRIL FOOLS’ !
Ha! ha!.. All kinds of them here.. Ha! ha!….
Redbox’s price increase was inevitable. The Play Pass program will help to offset the sour taste that the higher rental prices might have created. That’s how the loyalty program game works whether the product is hotel rooms, groceries, movie tickets, fast food, or credit card purchases.
I generally like the Play Pass program. The biggest problem with Play Pass is in the consistent implementation of its benefits to customers.
For example, in speaking to a representative from Redbox I was told that Play Place points are earned for each rental, whether a credit or promo code is used. I found out the hard way that this is only half true. Promo codes will earn the customer points. Use a credit and get zero points. That’s why if I’m ever given the choice between credit or pro code I’ll take a promo code every time.
Even when using promo codes, too often the earned points that I am due never arrive in my Redbox account. Placing a call to one of Redbox’s fine customer oriented representatives will earn me a credit (or promo code) to offset the error but the no-show points problem needs immediate and thorough correction.
Finally, any price increases, price reductions or incentives do not amount to a hill of gouged DVDs if Redbox’s movie choices are terrible. Redbox has made some improvements in this area but there are still weeks where every new movie is a real stinker.
I would be willing to shell out more moola for a superior movie selection. Provide a limited release, foreign award winner, obscure title or a speciality topic and I’m convinced viewers will seek it out and pay extra to see it.
If there is one area Redbox does not have to worry about is in the area of customer care. Redbox’s telephone support team is attentive, understanding and responsive. Some of the accents are difficult to understand and occasionally, hold times can reach almost 10 minutes but by the time the call is complete a customer can be assured of fair or beyond fair compensation for their troubles.
I would like to see Redbox succeed, if for no other reason than to provide Netflix with a formidable competitor.
The thing’s I don’t like about RedBox……….
You need to go get the disc.
You need to take it back with in 24 Hrs.
They don’t have that much selection.
And when I do the math. NetFlix in the mail (3) out at a time.
I get 17-18 disc a month in the mail. And that comes out to about 98 cents a disc. For the rent price.
No gas to go drive to get it, take it back. No 24 Hr bit to have it back.
NetFlix is for me…. Along with HULU and Warner Archives. And Acron TV…