Best Buy has adapted to competition from online players like Amazon by improving customer service and positioning itself as the expert in TVs, computers and other electronics. This offer is the latest example of the company’s approach to winning customers, says Michael Baker, a retail analyst at Davidson & Co.
Best Buy is also looking for ways to add new revenue streams besides product sales. A membership is attractive because it can generate ongoing fees from customers.
Best Buy currently has another, more limited membership program, Total Tech Support, which launched it in 2018. The new membership program will replace Total Tech Support in the six countries where it will be launched, and Baker expects the previous concept to one day completely replace it. .
“You need to keep making these subscriber offerings more attractive to customers,” Baker said.
Best Buy begins membership after a strong year in the pandemic. The retailer saw an increase in sales of items from laptops to kitchen appliances as more Americans worked and cooked at home. During the last quarter ending January 30, comparative sales, or those in stores that were open for at least one year, increased by 12.6% compared to the previous year.