Beginning Dec 2, Redbox will raise it DVD rental price by 25 percent in a move to improve the company's bottom line, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Rentals will cost $1.50 a night, up from the current $1.20. Blu-ray disc rentals will rise to $2 a night, from $1.50, a 33% increase. In addition to movies, Redbox is raising the price for videogame rentals to $3 a night from $2, beginning in January.
At the same time, Redbox is launching a recommendation engine similar to the one that has contributed to the success of competitor Netflix Inc. by steering customers to movies and TV shows they are likely to enjoy.
The last time Redbox raised its prices was in 2011, from $1 a night to $1.20 a night, with a nominal impact. Redbox President Mark Horak told the Journal he expects a similar decline with this latest price increase.
Redbox has had to deal with increasing competition from digital providers and is running out of locations to install kiosks. It also expects to end the year with 100 to 400 fewer kiosks in the U.S. and Canada than it had in 2013.
