Local video rental store surviving in the streaming era

It was announced this week that Netflix has surpassed Disney in worth, at an estimated $160 billion.

The streaming sultan is the most popular way to watch movies and TV shows online, and although it started as a DVD rental business, it has slowly phased that branch out.

But even as the DVD rental industry continues on its steady decline, one local business is keeping it going.

The Video Stop in Pocatello has been renting locals movies for over 30 years. Opening its doors in 1988 with VHS tapes, then LaserDisc’s and now DVD’s, the store has seen it all. Now in the age of streaming, a consistent customer base is what keeps it going.

Store owner David Kraning said he knows that there are those who will stream, but thinks that the older audiences still enjoy the physical copies.

“Our core customers, I’d say, are a lot of the older people. Say 30, 40 and upwards of that, that still enjoy having that actual disk,” Kraning said. “A lot of the younger generation, the way they do it is the way they are gonna do it. If they were streaming it before, I think they are still gonna stream it. Whereas, the people that are in here all the time, our core customers, will continue to rent as well.”

The store doesn’t fall behind though, updating its selection every Tuesday.

Kraning said that while he feels streaming is the future of the industry, he’ll keep serving his customers as long as they’ll let him.