Best Buy's last gasp at relevance

[ToxicAdam]

"Best Buy Co. is planning to match the prices of Internet competitors such as Amazon.com Inc. this holiday season, even as it plays down its concerns over shoppers browsing gadgets in stores only to buy them for less online.

The electronics chain also is preparing to offer free home delivery on merchandise that is out of stock in stores, according to a person familiar with the matter, in spite of recent remarks by new Chief Executive Hubert Joly that "showrooming" by consumers has been blown out of proportion."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444657804578050864206903402.html?mod=pls_whats_news_us_business_f


::rubs hands together::

[Eel O'Brian]

i support this decision

(i live one block away from a best buy)

[Phoenix Dark]

Oh boy this is gonna be gud

My parents always complain about not being able to take online deals to a Best Buy store and buy stuff; they really don't trust buying anything online. There are a lot of people like that, plus for the savvier people this is a nice way to avoid shipping fees/times

[Yeti]

Wonder if they will match lightning deals.

[Human Snorenado]

I wonder if you have to print something out or if you can just show an employee something on a phone or whatever.

[Mupepe]

oooh.  If Fry's wasn't 1 block away this would get me to go back to Best Buy. 

[MrAngryFace]

ive seen this movie

[Rusty Shackleford]

oooh.  If Fry's wasn't 1 block away this would get me to go back to Best Buy.

Is the Fry's near you still good? The one near my place has started pimping high-margin accessories (20 ft long shelves of canned air) and usually has like two copies of any other item.

[Mupepe]

oooh.  If Fry's wasn't 1 block away this would get me to go back to Best Buy.

Is the Fry's near you still good? The one near my place has started pimping high-margin accessories (20 ft long shelves of canned air) and usually has like two copies of any other item.

I don't really shop much there anymore except when I want something and I can price match it.  But when I'm there I usually see decent deals on blu rays.  And they've got the best deals on stuff like HDMI cables.  I got 2 for 6 bucks the other day.  The main area is usually filled with tables of shitty software that has good free alternatives on the net.  Nero, a million brands of anti virus software, shitty language learning software.  There's never anything good on those tables.

[Rusty Shackleford]

oooh.  If Fry's wasn't 1 block away this would get me to go back to Best Buy.

Is the Fry's near you still good? The one near my place has started pimping high-margin accessories (20 ft long shelves of canned air) and usually has like two copies of any other item.

I don't really shop much there anymore except when I want something and I can price match it.  But when I'm there I usually see decent deals on blu rays.  And they've got the best deals on stuff like HDMI cables.  I got 2 for 6 bucks the other day.  The main area is usually filled with tables of shitty software that has good free alternatives on the net.  Nero, a million brands of anti virus software, shitty language learning software.  There's never anything good on those tables.

HDMI that cheap at Fry's? They're still charging Monster prices for the generic ones at my store.

I think the thing that drives me crazy about them is that their online inventory checker is frequently incorrect and doesn't mention that half their stock is mangled open box items. You can't call the stores directly anymore, either - it all gets routed to a call center where a guy looks up the same info that you can get on the internet yourself. If you tell them to transfer you to an actual person at an actual store, they put you on hold for 10 minutes. At least with Best Buy you can talk directly with floor staff.

[Steve Youngblood]

In order for this to work, they're going to need to get even more aggressive with selling services. Don't get me wrong, this is something they have to do. But I don't think that this is really going to help all that much. What they'll gain in revenue with the number of products sold will be probably outdone by little to no profit margin on the product.

[Rusty Shackleford]

In order for this to work, they're going to need to get even more aggressive with selling services. Don't get me wrong, this is something they have to do. But I don't think that this is really going to help all that much. What they'll gain in revenue with the number of products sold will be probably outdone by little to no profit margin on the product.

You're right. They're caught between a rock and a hard place, aren't they? No one like extra-pushy teenage sales staff but at the same time they can't afford to staff knowledgeable personnel with profits the way they are.

[ToxicAdam]

I just find it ironic that they spent a decade trying to chase away the 'bargain hunter' shopper out of their stores and now (in an effort to regain marketshare) they are trying to woo them back.


Here's some more information on their upcoming policy:

As you can imagine, this policy comes with a bunch of small print, and the WSJ’s Joan Solsman took a look through that small print today. In a document being distributed to the company’s store staff to brief them on the offer Best Buy outline a few caveats to the we’ll-match-that-price offer:

- The offer will not be valid from the Sunday before Thanksgiving until the end of “Cyber Monday” 8 days later

- Sales staff will only offer to match the online price if specifically asked

- It’s only valid for a list of 20 specific online retailers, not all prices online: so places like Amazon AMZN -0.54%or the online outlets of Dell or Wal-Mart WMT +1.05%are included, but not more obscure ones – and not third-party sellers found on platforms like Amazon Marketplace or Ebay EBAY +0.82%.

- And they can choose NOT to do it whenever they want, or so it appears from a broad, catch-all clause in the document seen by the WSJ’s Solsman: sales staff will only match the online price “when it makes sense” — which as you can imagine, can be interpreted liberally enough to mean “if we want to”.

Best Buy plans on posting a consumer guide to the new offer on its website soon, and it could be that these conditions — and particularly the last one — are given an extra layer of detail so shoppers know exactly what to expect.

But for now, it is fair to assume that while the company is keen to keep your business if Amazon is offering the same thing a couple of bucks cheaper, the internet’s cheapest deals will not be instantly fed through into your local Best Buy showroom

[Rusty Shackleford]

- Sales staff will only offer to match the online price if specifically asked

  I wonder how prominently they'll display this new policy in stores.

Unrelated, but Adam, your avatar reminds me of H.R. Pufnstuf. Scared the bejesus out of me as a kid.

[Mupepe]

oooh.  If Fry's wasn't 1 block away this would get me to go back to Best Buy.

Is the Fry's near you still good? The one near my place has started pimping high-margin accessories (20 ft long shelves of canned air) and usually has like two copies of any other item.

I don't really shop much there anymore except when I want something and I can price match it.  But when I'm there I usually see decent deals on blu rays.  And they've got the best deals on stuff like HDMI cables.  I got 2 for 6 bucks the other day.  The main area is usually filled with tables of shitty software that has good free alternatives on the net.  Nero, a million brands of anti virus software, shitty language learning software.  There's never anything good on those tables.

HDMI that cheap at Fry's? They're still charging Monster prices for the generic ones at my store.

I think the thing that drives me crazy about them is that their online inventory checker is frequently incorrect and doesn't mention that half their stock is mangled open box items. You can't call the stores directly anymore, either - it all gets routed to a call center where a guy looks up the same info that you can get on the internet yourself. If you tell them to transfer you to an actual person at an actual store, they put you on hold for 10 minutes. At least with Best Buy you can talk directly with floor staff.

I gave up on calling most stores years ago.  Physical stores have terrible customer service and it's 10x worse when it comes to telephones.  And I also gave up on Fry's online inventory shit a long time ago too   It's so horrible.  Even going to the customer service desk and asking them if they carry something is worthless.  I get some kid just telling me "yeah, it's in this area somewhere or it should be"  Thanks, buddy

[Rusty Shackleford]

  Yeah I always love it when the highly trained sales staff reads something off the box when I have a question. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for stuff at Best Buy or even Fry's if the staff were actually knowledgeable about the product. Circuit City was that way years ago, plus Egghead Software and The Good Guys. It'd be nice to have that model back.

[MrAngryFace]

all the shit I care about was shoved in the four corners so they could cell cameras n phones - why would I go there? Fuck em.

[Rusty Shackleford]

all the shit I care about was shoved in the four corners so they could cell cameras n phones - why would I go there? Fuck em.

Best Buy? What did you go there for? Computer stuff?

[MrAngryFace]

music, dvds, blurays, games, I LIKE going to a store instead of Amazoning EVERYTHING- now I just go to a local record store chain for music- everything else is Amazon. Retail therapy isnt nearly as fun/effective when its a press of a button on a website.