I recently found an article that was posted on February 18, 2013 that was related to what we have been learning in class last week – pricing strategy!

This article is about Best Buy “killing showrooming” for good and will now price match against local retail competitors along with 19 online major competitors (such as Amazon, Apple, Newegg, Target, etc). I believe Best Buy’s strategy relates to competitor orientation as Best Buy will now price match against its competitors prices. For instance, say Amazon sells something for $200 and Best Buy sells its for $300, Best Buy will match Amazon’s price to you in hopes of you buying it from Best Buy instead of buying it from from Amazon.

I think this is a great idea for Best Buy, as it gets consumers to consider Best Buy as an alternative place to buy products from. Lets assume that there’s a product that the consumer wants on Amazon is priced at $100, but shipping is $50 (I’m exaggerating the price), and Best Buy has it at $200, AND the consumer lives close to a Best Buy (lets say a 10 minute drive), it’ll be worth going to Best Buy, have it price match against Amazon, and then buy it from Best Buy. It’s a win-win situation for both the consumer and Best Buy: consumer gets the item he/she wants (immediate gratification), Best Buy gains the revenue/profit from the transaction.

However, from my previous experience with Best Buy, I think it needs its employees to work on their customer services as I find them sometimes unwilling to help you find the item you are looking for or are just not very helpful at all. If this happens to other consumers, it just might put them off and leave Best Buy.

Also, I know Best Buy tends to charge their items very high relative to other stores, such as Newegg. So in the future, I really hope they’re pricing reasonably. If they’re charging something for $80 and I can get it somewhere else for half the price, they just might lose a potential customer.