Video On Demand: Walmart Buys Vudu

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Although I can list many reasons why shopping at Walmart is horrible, I have to admit that Walmart’s recent move to purchase Vuduâ€a video on demand Web serviceâ€is very smart. This seemingly random move puts Walmart into yet another money making category for competitors to envy. I’ll leave the antics of why you should avoid Walmart to PeopleofWalMart.com, and focus on how Walmart is about improve!

The idea behind the purchase is simple. Walmart wants to compete with rental companies like Netflix and Coinstar’s Redbox. Imagine walking into your local Walmart and alongside your impulse buys of gum, soda and assorted varieties of ChapStick you have movies? Even better, you have a reminder that says you can go to Walmart.com and watch these videos whenever you want and not worry about returning a DVD.

Vudu is one of many video on demand websites (Amazon.com and the even more popular iTunes both offer this service), so there isn’t anything too particularly special about Vudu, but they are good enough for Walmart. Bottom line is, as ...
... long as its functional, Walmart can handle the marketing and distribution; whether you like Walmart or not, you can’t argue with the fact that they are the #1 retailer in the world with over 1.3 million employees.

The only issue I see arising from this is pricing. While renting movies from Comcast can be a little pricey, Netflix offers a flat-fee for as many movies as you want, and Redbox is cheaper than the popcorn you would find in aisle 3.

I was didn’t know Walmart attempted this service before, but headlines rarely lie “Walmart Stores quietly canceled its online video download service less than a year after the site went live…” (via ZDNet)

This adds yet another dimension to Walmart; one that will definitely boost sales and bring stiff competition through its shear marketing strength and legendary pricing power.