Blockbuster gives online subscribers a bricks-and-mortar option
A week after calling it a pilot program Blockbuster Inc. is going national with a program that gives online subscribers the option of returning DVDs to a store and receiving a coupon good for a rental.
The program, called Total Access, gives online customers the option of returning DVDs through the mail or exchanging them at more than 5,000 stores for free in-store movie rentals.
Blockbuster is upgrading all current and new online rental subscribers to the Total Access program. For each online rental exchanged in the store, customers will receive a free in-store movie rental. Subscribers to Blockbuster`s lower-priced $5.99 and $7.99 plans also will be included in the Total Access program and will be able to exchange online DVDs for free in-store movie rentals, the company says.
When subscribers return their online rentals to a participating store, the check-in process also automatically initiates the shipment of the subscriber’s next available movie. "Our research has shown that Blockbuster Total Access appeals strongly to online customers as well as to store-based customers who want to be able to rent movies both ways," says Blockbuster chairman and CEO John Antioco. "Total Access will help us achieve our goal of two million subscribers by year’s end, position us to grow our subscriber base in the future and assist us in increasing our share of the overall rental market."
Blockbuster, No. 70 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites, now has approximately 1.5 million online subscribers, a year-over-year increase in its subscriber base of 50%, the company says. During the third quarter, Blockbuster added approximately 150,000 net subscribers.
Back...
