by Lorri Parisi
The EZ Mart on Route 20/22 in New Lebanon is expanding its services, especially during the absence of a local grocery store in the valley. The Mobil Gas pumps have been replaced with Sunoco, and EZ Mart now offers fuel savings using your Price Chopper Card. Cash or credit options are now available at the pump.
Shoppers can purchase groceries and beer, enjoy a cup of Green Mountain Coffee or have a breakfast sandwich or a Boar’s Head sandwich made fresh at the Deli.
DVD Kiosk
The newest addition to the store is the DVD rental kiosk. This automated machine offers a selection of current DVDs to rent using a credit or debit card.
Independent kiosk owners are new in the DVD rental market, a highly competitive and rapidly evolving industry dominated by big players such as Netflix, Redbox and Blockbuster. The kiosks themselves are a very recent development. They exploded from nothing in 2004 to 14.5% of the rental marketplace in 2009, according to Adams Media Research.
DVD kiosks are expected to keep growing, especially as rental stores continue to close across the nation. Blockbuster has shuttered several of its local stores in recent months, and Movie Gallery Inc. is closing all its Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores after filing bankruptcy for the second time.
Like EZ Mart, many current independent owners get their machines from Vancouver-based DVDNow Kiosks, Inc., a rapidly growing company whose customers have about 2,000 machines across the United States.
In many ways, EZ Mart Kwik DVD machines are similar to the ones owned by national chains. The machines hold 250 movies, rented for either $1 or $1.49 a night. Customers swipe their credit cards and are charged when the movie is returned.
An Asset To The Community
The convenience of a full service store and laundromat in the middle of town is an asset to the community. EZ Mart is located at 492 State Route 20/22, across from the Midtown Mall where the new Farmer’s Market is held each Sunday in New Lebanon.
