Thursday, April 11, 2013

ShowRooming - Bestbuy



Best buy show rooming



Showrooming – big physical retailers being hurt when consumers use as show rooms but buy in stores

Online being pushed to charge sales tax – narrowing the gap
Also offer a price match
More sales per sq foot (other then costco)
Questions:
Has Best Buy done enough to keep its strong position and bring back consumers?  it’s unclear if ‘enough’ as been done, as they are still not turning a profit, but it is safe to say that they have strengthened their position and starting to bring back their consumers.  This article does fail to mention about potential things that Amazon and some of the other online retailers may have not done, which pushed consumers back to the physical store for their electronic purchases, such a possible deficiencies experience with malfunctioning equipment.
What else could Best Buy do to remain relevant and be a market leader?  They need to continue to offer things that the online retailers cannot.  Such as the face to face customer support.  Technical equipment can be difficult and just having a knowledgeable person there to sort out your issues and offer support can be a game changer.
If you were to compete against Best Buy what strategic positioning would you take to exploit Best Buy’s position? I would offer the physical store front for my customers to get the face-to-face customer support they need. 
What degree of ‘Showrooming’ is ok for retailers? Can it ever be stopped? No, I don’t think showrooming is a horrible thing.  It gives the physical retailers the chance to win over the customer.  And even if they don’t win them over the for that specific purchase, they have open the door for when their competitors dissatisfy the customer to become their satisfied customer.

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