SOUTH BEND — Hollywood Video recently closed all of its locations in South Bend. People who follow the industry say after years of profitability that closures could be the norm, marking the end of the video store era as we know it.

Pick, pay, grab and go — that’s the routine Debbie Smogor follows at the Redbox kiosk in Mishawaka.

Redbox is the latest trend in renting movies.

“It’s easy to get in and out,” said Smogor. “It’s cheap and you can drop it off at any Redbox location.”

The red kiosks are just about everywhere — outside drugstores, and even restaurants like Sonic. Redbox is the little box that could.

A surge in popularity for the company — along with Netflix, which mails movies to your home — all comes at a time when brick and mortar shops that rented movies and video games every single day shut their doors for good.

It’s down to the bare walls at the Hollywood Video location on Ironwood in South Bend. Hollywood Video locations in southwest Michigan and outside the city of South Bend are also slated to close after the parent company, Movie Gallery, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

Hollywood Video’s competitor, Blockbuster, still has a presence in South Bend despite the closure of a number of stores around Michiana, including locations on McKinley, in Granger and the west side of South Bend.

The reason these closures keep happening, according to Notre Dame marketing professor Pat Murphy, is that we live in an era of convenience.

“I think it’s the American drive for low prices and convenience that has made it an ultra competitive world for video stores,” Murphy said.

For a case of “only the strong surviving,” look no further than your Family Video.

“We’ve come off of the best year in our company’s history,” said Shannon Conley, district manager with Family Video. “It was the fourth straight year that it was the best year in our company.”

Conley believes strong ties to the community, shelves well stocked with popular movies and even better deals keeps customers coming back for more.

“Between Friday and Sunday we signed up 50 new members in three days,” Conley said.

As the industry continues to emerge, Murphy said companies tuned in to their customer’s needs and will remain open for business.

“Some survive because they react to the market conditions better than others,” Murphy said.

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