A state-of-the-art vending machine being deployed across the UK and Ireland is showing that for some businesses, the credit-crunch represents a window of opportunity.

With consumer spending on traditional nights out at an all time low due to the ‘credit crunch’, people are increasingly looking for a low cost night in. Supermarket Waitrose recently reported a 30% increase in sales of its ‘As Good As Going Out’ range of ready meals, whilst online DVD rental service LoveFilm claimed a 40% increase in new memberships since the Summer of 2007.

Another company throwing their hat into the ring to claim the credit crunch has boosted their trade is The Movie Booth, who market their DVD rental kiosk service as a low cost alternative to the traditional night out. Since launching in early 2008, they have seen a 60% increase in new monthly vending kiosk launches, with six DVD kiosks being launched across Ireland in the last four weeks alone.

Their kiosks form part of a growing network which stretches from Newcastle to Belfast to Dublin to Cardiff, and The Movie Booth claim their machines are the modern alternative to Blockbusters traditional DVD rental model.

The kiosk stores over 600 DVDs in a box measuring half a square metre, and stocks new release movies. Using a touch-screen menu, clients rent DVDs on a pay-as-you-go basis, giving customers more control over the length of their rentals and enabling them to receive the most competitive prices available, says the company.

The kiosks offer £2 rental per 24 hours for new releases such as The Dark Knight and Tropic Thunder and £1 per night for catalogue titles such as Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones 4.

DVD rental kiosks have proven to be popular in the US, and use advanced robotics to make the rental of movies a ‘fully automated’ process.

Story filed 29.01.09