Best Buy is a very well-known seller of electronics in the US. Anyone that has been to a Best Buy knows that the retail stores offer just about every bit of technology the average consumer would need. For a number of years the retailer has also been an authorized seller of phones for various cell providers. Including Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. They are also the retail location for Samsung Experience Shops, which are basically like mini Samsung stores inside the stores. Yesterday both Verizon and AT&T made an announcement that they will both be placing mini shops, or experience stores, inside 250 Best Buys across the nation.
Both announcements are very similar, stating that the mini shops will be staffed by carrier experts and that they are aiming for 250 in-store locations open by the end of the year.
“The Verizon Experience in Best Buy is geared to showcase connected lifestyles – such as wearable tech, computing on the go and connected home – and the devices and plans that make these lifestyles a reality,†said John Colaiuti, vice president of national distribution at Verizon Wireless. “Just like in our own Destination and Smart stores, the specialists in the Verizon Experience stores at Best Buy are trained in a hands-on environment so they can provide real-world examples to customers when talking about our new simplified plans and devices.â€
“The shops allow us to offer even better service to our customers, whether they need help with their data plan or understanding how their phone or tablet can better control their increasingly connected life,†said Josh Will, Senior Category Officer of Mobile and Connected Home at Best Buy. “ The mobile device is becoming the remote control to everything else in our lives, but it can be confusing. We can help shoppers make sense of it all.â€
There are a number of interesting thoughts to consider about this announcement. First, are they going to both be in the same 250 stores, or have they hashed out a split where they don’t overlap? I would love to see both in the same store for competition sake. Since both carriers offer many of the same devices it would all come down to price, customer interaction and knowledge. The second side of it comes down to the ability to be able to help customers beyond just their phone. I work in retail and we often never have the gadgets or gizmos that will benefit them the most. Having a Best Buy at your back should make for an enormous boost in ability to connect the customers with everything they need.
Verizon says they have already started the roll out of their Experience Shops and are expected to have 100 locations open by the end of the month. AT&T didn’t make any mention that they have any opening up this month, just that they are coming.
