A gripe with video rental joints

I've ranted this before, and I'll rant it again: Why in the world can't I search a video store's inventory online and see what they have from the comfort of my own home? I can do this with Redbox--one of the things that makes their system so consumer-friendly--but at the so-called traditional brick-and-mortal rental giants, Hollywood Video and Blockbuster, as far as I know, it's no dice.

Do these places expect me to--gasp--actually go in the store and try to find it without checking ahead of time? Hey, I've tried that 3 times, I think, at my local Hollywood Video since I moved Cultureshark Tower to its present location a few years ago. Each time, I came up empty and kind of regretted I made the effort.

Let's put aside for the moment the idea that these stores should be working to stock titles Netflix doesn't--like double-dip editions. I'd think that given the decline in their industry, these places would be eager to get me in the store. If I can go online and search the individual store's "shelves," even if I don't find what I'm looking for (in this case, the director's cut version of David Fincher,s "Zodiac"), maybe I'll see something else and be motivated to get into the store and grab it that day rather than wait for Netflix to bring it. I doubt it, but at least there's a chance.

Maybe I'm missing something fundamental, but it seems a missed opportunity here.