Independent, family-owned movie rental stores that have suffered at the hands of powerhouses such as Blockbuster and Movie Gallery and online services such as Netflix have been forced to find alternative means to recruit and retain customers.
Many mom and pop stores that once dominated the local rental industry are adapting with revenue sources such as adult DVDs, tanning booths, electronics sales and personalized customer service, according to a report in the Roanoke Times in Virginia.
"Just being restricted to DVDs doesn't really provide a business with enough of a basis to survive in today's competitive market," Andrew Mun, a spokesman for the Video Software Dealers Association, which represents more than 800 movie rental companies and 12,000 stores, told the newspaper. "The video store is more than just a video store now."
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