Video and variety go hand in hand

Discount Store News, Feb 23, 1998 by Carolyn Setlow

With nearly nine in 10 Americans owning a VCR, buying and renting videos has become an ingrained part of the lifestyle of large numbers of consumers. In fact, watching movies at home is now equally as popular as going to the movies, with about thee in four people ranking both activities as "a good time." As Baby Boomers and Generation Xers continue to have children, watching videos at home will continue to rate as an inexpensive good time, one that doesn't even require a babysitter. While Roper research indicates that growth in video rentals has slowed somewhat, more people are buying prerecorded videos. Some are building home libraries of their favorite videos; others are simply too busy for overnight rentals and prefer to purchase a video and watch it whenever they have the time. Retailers need to be aware of Americans' more varied tastes as they stock their video bins. Comedies, action/adventures and dramas are still top favorites in videos. About seven in 10 Americans renting or buying videocassettes said they "really like" to watch comedies. A little more than six in 10 "really like" action/adventure films. About half expressed enthusiasm for dramas, with women outnumbering men by 12 percentage points. Men, however, are much more likely than women to say they buy or rent action/adventure films (73% vs. 53%).

But the growth of cable television and satellite dishes is exposing viewers to an increasingly board spectrum of entertainment programming. And cable networks' niche programming, such as classic movies, foreign films, sports competitions, cartoons, historical documentaries and music videos, contributes to a broadening of public taste.

Classics and documentaries have enjoyed particularly strong growth. Approximately 30% of videos consumers said they "really like" to watch classics, an increase of eight percentage points since 1994. Older Americans are a large and growing market for classic movies. Video consumers 45 to 59 years old (39%, up 15 percentage points from 1994) and 60 and older (38%, up 12 percentage points) are among the most prominent fans. Not surprisingly, women are also a force: 35% (up 12%) said they "really like" classics vs. 24% (up 3%) for men.

The percentage expressing a strong preference for documentaries also jumped eight points during that period, rising to 20%. Affluent, educated and older Americans are a good market for documentaries.

Audiences are showing interest in other genres as well. Mysteries (37%), romance movies (31%), children's movies and cartoons (28%), and sports videos (13%) did well; since 1994, they've risen 5% each among people who said they "really like" to watch them. Interest in sports videos also fell along gender lines: men preferred them more than four times as much as women (22% vs. 5%). And in romance movies, the gender gap was also wide, with women outromancing men three to one (46% vs. 15%).

In keeping with the Baby Boomlet, 31% said they "really like" family and children's movies, a new category polled. Half of parents with kids younger under 18 said they "really like" to watch family and children's movies, almost as many "really like" watching children's cartoons.

Approximately 21% expressed a preference for science fiction, and 15% for musicals, both new categories in the poll. The number preferring music and concert videos rose to 16% (up 7%). Only 6% expressed a partiality for exercise and fitness videos, nearly tying "how-to" videos for last place with.

With America becoming increasingly diverse and consumers becoming more adventurous, demands for more varied selections and choices suited to individual group tastes will likely grow.