The holiday season is approaching and
retailers are gearing up for competition, both online and offline. Best Buy
Co., Inc.(NYSE:BBY) has instructed staffers at their stores, to review pricings
and bring them at par with online prices of rivals. At the same time, the
company is increasing its service offerings for customers.
Online prices were not matched before, as
those were cheaper; price-matching happened only at brick-and-mortar stores.
With the holiday season on the way a retailer can expect a huge profit of 40%.
But online merchants and discount stores might cut into the profits with their
low-range prices.
According to company spokeswoman Amy von
Walter, the matching guarantee will be applicable only for electronic goods and
appliances, that too on an “if asked” criteria at the discretion of staffers.
Best Buy is providing customers with free shipping in case they purchase items
that are presently out of stock.
Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy states
that improving customer service will provide Best Buy with an edge, but other
online retailers like Amazon have a loyal user base, which will be tough to
break into due to the convenience factor. Best Buy shares declined 10 cents to
$17.74 in afternoon trading.
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