The Demise of Best Buy

This past weekend, a friend and I stopped by a Best Buy department store. We didn’t go there with the intention to purchase anything, just to kill some time. As I walked through the isles, bombarded by obnoxiously over-helpful employees, I tried to think back to the last purchase I actually made in a Best Buy. Or, in any other brick and mortar electronics store, for that matter. It is a memory that I cannot recall.

Best Buy specifically is in an interesting predicament. Their bitter rival, Circuit City recently bit the bullet and gave in to the troubling economic times (take a drink). As Best Buy shifts their focus on the real king of the mountain, Walmart, now would be a good time for the big wigs to realize that they are not invulnerable to the same hardships that Circuit City faced.

The declining sales of physical media is not something that can be ignored. When I think movies or music, Itunes or Amazon is what immediately comes to mind. When it’s time for a new laptop or gadget, I prefer the comparability and customization that the web has to offer. When that new must-have video game is released, I want to trade in my used games for a discount, a service Amazon is now offering, as well as GameStop or EB Games. I have never purchased a big household appliance, such a washing machine or refrigerator at a Best Buy, and I don’t intend to anytime soon. It is hard to believe I am amongst a small minority in my buying habits.

So, while Best Buy is now targeting Walmart, it is a shift in their distribution model that they should be concerned with. A redesign of the horrendous bestbuy.com website would be a good start. A bigger push towards social networking couldn’t hurt. Perhaps a digital downloads store with some exclusivity deals would give them an edge. Whatever it is they do, they need to do it soon before Best Buy is swallowed, along with Walmart, by this common threat that is a sociological shift.

As I discussed this topic with my friend while we were exiting the department store, we made a wager as to how long Best Buy has before they join Circuit City, and the countless other failed franchises, in obscurity. My friend says 10 years, while I give them 6 at the most. And, while it will be a shame to see them go, if they have nothing desirable to bring to the table, I say good riddance.