Bye Bye Stores..Hello Virtual Reality!!

Yes it is true we are slowly watching the frenzy of the internet is swiftly but surely causing many stores to close down. Recently one of the biggest headlines as mentioned in the blog by Professor Miyazaki, was that Blockbuster had to file for bankruptcy due to the success of it's rival Netflix. Why did Netflix outperform Blockbuster? The target market strategy Netflix chose were individuals who preferred to spend time in the comfort of their home, who are tech savvy and who are lazy to go to a store and rent a movie. Many Netflix subscribers may found this company to be convenient because if one had several tasks to perform during their work and personal life they may have believed that the drive to rent a movie is time consuming therefore instantly streaming movies did not take away time from them. For those who simply enjoyed spending time at home renting movies it is an enjoyable past time that they can share in the company of loved ones or simply for self- satisfaction. However, Netflix appeared to be more appealing to the newer generations than the older ones. For instance, one of my relatives is about 65 years old and she thought the idea of uploading movies instantly through the X-box to seem too “complicated”, since she is unfamiliar with the technology. Growing up surrounded with computers the newer generations are able to grasp the method of video streaming since similar methods are used with music downloads. Video streaming facilitates the ability to watch any movie since it does not require skill, time loss, or any physical effort.

 Some of Netflix’s competitive advantages compared to Blockbuster and Amazon were that for a flat monthly fee subscribers could order up to three movies at a time and could keep the rentals for as long as they wanted.  Unlike their counterparts customers did not have to pay late fees.  They also offered next day movie shipping and had most movie titles available in stock. As a Netflix customer when I search the website there are a variety of genres to choose from such as older T.V shows that cannot be found with their competitors. Their large assortment of movies definitely gives them an upper hand in the industry since rather than search for a particular movie from several retailers you can always rely on one company, which is Netflix.  

Overall Blockbuster did not go bust according to the www.Dailyfinance.com, no because it did not offer online video rentals but mainly because customers preferred the service Netflix had to offer.

What will go next remains to be seen!