The once popular video rental chain Blockbuster has finally decided to shut all of its doors. Digital streaming and on-demand services certainly played a part in the company’s struggles, but there were other factors as well. How many people once patronized Blockbuster stores? And how did business decline over the years?
Blockbuster Customers
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 31% of respondents said they used to rent movies at Blockbuster fairly often. 24% said they sometimes went to Blockbuster. 11% said they went at least once or twice. And 35% said they never rented movies from Blockbuster.However, just 8% of respondents said they went to Blockbuster to rent movies many times within the last year. 7% said they rented movies from Blockbuster just once or twice over the past year. And 85% said they haven’t gone to Blockbuster at all in the past year.
Digital Video
So how have digital solutions impacted the business’s demise? 27% of respondents said they often use streaming or on-demand services to watch movies. 28% said they sometimes watch movies this way. 14% said they rarely do. And 31% said they never use streaming or on-demand services to watch movies. Those who don’t use any streaming or on-demand services were actually 11% less likely to have rented movies from Blockbuster within the past year.
Digital Blockbuster
But Blockbuster did make some attempts to keep up with the changing movie renting industry. Services like Blockbuster at Home and Blockbuster On Demand were and will continue to be available. But just 6% of respondents said they currently use these services. 12% said they have used them in the past. And 83% have never used Blockbuster at Home or Blockbuster On Demand.You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Blockbuster in Mentor, Ohio from FlickrWhat do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.
Results were collected on November 7 via AYTM’s online survey panel.