Three Easy Ways To Make Rentals More Popular

It's given that version one of any product will have a few problems and rough spots, and Apple's new movie rental program is no exception to the rule.

So with that in mind, here are three ways that Apple could improve their new service right now, making it a lot more valuable to all concerned.

First, increase the 24 hour "started" period to at least 28 hours.

The logic behind this one is pretty straightforward. Quite a few families have certain times set aside for certain events. Some, for example, may have dinner, then sit back and watch some TV or a movie. Perfect time for a rental.

But what happens in the case of an interruption?

Kids misbehaving, neighbor drops by, mom calls, whatever.

Well, according to Apple, this is where the 24-hour "finish" period applies.

But if dinner is usually at seven, and movie-time starts at eight, by the same time the next day the film has vanished. Poof.

This is where twenty-eight hour rentals come in.

By adding an extra four hours, you cover the same time slot for the following night, truly giving the family enough time to "finish" the movie.

Some people have called for 36-hours, or 48-hours, or even a week, but to me this just seems like whining for the sake of whining. After all, there's always going to be some special case or situation, and some individuals aren't going to be happy no matter what you do.

But 28-hours seems like a reasonable compromise that's entirely within the spirit of the original solution.

Next?

Allow the rental price to apply towards a purchase.

Let's face it. Some people don't like renting, as they feel they're "wasting" their money. What happens if they like the film, they reason, as they've then paid good money to rent it and then again to buy it.

So add a "rent to buy" option that works much like the way Complete Your Album works for music. Rent it, and the rental fee is automatically applied towards the purchase.

After all, Apple knows what you've rented and purchased.

This not only makes renting more of a no-brainer, but it makes it a lot more likely for the the purchase to be made online. In fact, just ask at the end of the rental, "Would you like to own this film now for just $6.99?"

I think Apple would be surprised at the response.

Okay, so the first two suggestions will probably require some contract work between Apple and the studios.

But here's one they can do on their own.

Add a NetFlix-like rental queue to the iTunes store.

This serves two purposes:

First, a queue is a "wish-list" that people can use to keep movies that they want to see in the future. See something that looks interesting? Just add it to your list.

You can sort-of, kind-of use the shopping cart for this now, but that pretty much ruins the shopping cart as a shopping cart. Give us a list.

The second reason is a bit more complex, but perhaps the real reason for the implementation.

Movies don't start playing immediately. Now, Apple has indicated that if you have a good broadband internet connection, your film will be ready to watch in a minute or so.

But what happens if you don't have a good connection? How long will it take your film to start then? Worse, what if you start and the stream can't keep up and the film continually pauses and drops out during playback?

With a queue, once you've finished watching a movie Apple can get to work downloading the next title in your list, ensuring that it's sitting there, ready and waiting to start whenever you are.

You do have 30 days, after all.

So we've made people happier, made the service easier to use, helped them feel that renting isn't going to a be a waste of their money, and as such increased the number of rentals made, and probably also increased the number of purchases.

Sounds like a win-win scenario to me.

So that's my list. What's on yours? Is there anything Apple can do to make your rental experience better?

Comments

[john Jacobs]

Dead on. I had a film I wanted to rent that I'd seen in the "new" list on iTunes, but when I went back to it today it had disappeared. Didn't quite remember the name, so now I can't find it.

But if I could have added it to my wish list I'd have been all set.