Let me begin by saying for years I have been an avid consumer of Best Buy products and services and was fairy dumbfounded when I watched a documentary on CNBC calling Best Buy a showroom for Amazon’s products and predicting Best Buy’s almost inevitable demise.

The documentary points out that with the development of e-retailers that have lower overhead costs and can offer lower prices than traditional brick and mortar stores, it has become increasingly difficult for brick and mortar stores to compete. And it has just become even more difficult with the availability of smartphones and mobile apps like RedLaser and Price Check by Amazon. What these free apps allow you to do is scan the UPC barcode on that back of a product, and it will spit out a list of e-retailers that the consumer can get it for the best price and even order the items from within Best Buy’s doors.

What does this mean for stores like Best Buy?

It means anyone can walk into a store like Best Buy, get the expert advice from their employees, test the product, and even come to a conclusion about a product you might only get if you are physically in a store, but chances are they won’t buy the product from a store like Best Buy, simply because online is cheaper and it is so convenient to order with these apps.

What is Best Buy doing to fight back?

I’ve heard that Best Buy is requesting from manufacturers produce an exclusive product line for them, but if they’re still asking for a premium on their products I don’t see this as a means of turning things around.

On the other hand companies like Amazon continue to take market share. They have done a superb job at using mobile apps to establish their lower prices, drive traffic to their site and increase their sales. This is a just a prime example of e-retailers taking advantage of traditional retailers disadvantages.

Below is video briefly touching on the issue, but is more focused on how this issue is affecting Best Buy and Amazon’s stock prices.