Despite having more than 2 million subscribers and over 70,000 titles available, Amazon-owned LoveFilm seems to be struggling. The most compelling piece of evidence? Apparently, they’re sending door-to-door salesmen out to sign up subscribers.

Netflix seems to be the LoveFilm’s biggest competitor (despite the fact that Netflix claims its main competitors are broadcasting companies). LoveFilm seems to be losing subscribers so quickly, it now requires that existing subscribers CALL to cancel subscriptions (a definite worst practice that will kill any campaigns to recover lapsed subscribers).

But LoveFilm’s struggles are not entirely foreseeable, or even understandable. The company has made some smart moves in recent months, such as signing exclusive contracts with Universal and Fox. It’s also struck a deal with Disney UK and Ireland to stream animated shows like Iron Man and X-Men. If there’s one way to ensure conversion, its to get kids to beg their parents for something. And the site is branching into original children’s programming.

So why is LoveFilm struggling? One study found that Netflix UK has a more to offer television fans, but LoveFilm has a more sizeable movie selection.

But it may also be LoveFilm’s site design. The homepage does not act as an aggressive trial funnel the way Netflix’s homepage does. Most importantly, it does not easily capture emails on the homepage, and therefore, LoveFilm probably has fewer trial abandons to market to and recover (if they’re doing that at all).

However, LoveFilm does have a home-court advantage here. Anecdotal evidence suggests that UK audiences respond better to phone calls than email marketing, and door-to-door sales may work even better. What may seem desperate to American eyes may be just what LoveFilm needs to boost its subscription sales.