Free dvd rental

Drug chains have dabbled in the video rental business before, but it, in general, has seemed to cause more trouble than it's worth. That is, until some vendors figured out a way to deliver drug chains the benefits of extra foot traffic and incremental sales, while eliminating the hassles of managing the inventory and servicing the department.

At least two chains, Duane Reade and Jewel/Osco, currently are testing automated DVD rental kiosks in select stores. In New York, Duane Reade has installed the kiosks in three high-traffic stores, using services and equipment from New York-based DVD Xpress. In Chicago, Albertson's has put similar kiosks into four stores, teaming with local vendor Geteanovie.

While it may be too early to tell--Albertson's only started the program in May--the results have been promising. An Albertson's spokeswoman declined to comment on the test, saying it was too new. However, customers must obtain a Getamovie membership card before they ca rent, and just in the program's first two weeks, more than 2,000 consumers had enrolled.

At Duane Reade, about 15,000 customers have rented through the program since its February kickoff.

The Getamovie kiosks hold about 1,500 titles and are located on the Osco side of the store. At Duane Reade, the units hold about 100 titles and are positioned in the stores' vestibules. Both Duane Reade and Albertson's get part of the revenues.

Duane Reade charges $3.49 for a one-day rental and $1.49 for each additional day. Albertson's charges $3 for one day, $3.50 for two days and 99 cents for each additional day.