Move over Apple and make room for Samsung.Posted on 04/04/2013 12:06:20 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Move over Apple and make room for Samsung.In what could be a win-win-lose situation for Samsung, Best Buy, and Apple, the Korean electronics maker announced today that it will open up Samsung Experience Shops in 1,400 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile specialty stores across the U.S. These shops within a shop will allow customers to explore, purchase, activate, and receive service on a wide range of Samsung mobile products and accessories.
Samsung says it will stock its shops with a full range of mobile products, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, connected cameras, and accessories, all available in a single location within Best Buy. Just as there's a designated Apple section where customers can play with the latest iOS device, they'll now be able to do the same with products from Samsung, Apple's biggest competitor.
"Samsung has been delivering the latest innovation across the consumer electronics category for some time," said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America. "With the Samsung Experience Shops, we are ensuring consumers get the most of that innovation by learning how to leverage their mobile devices across our ecosystem of consumer electronics. Consumers will have one place to not only explore and learn about our full portfolio of mobile products, but also the support of a Samsung expert to help with selecting and servicing them. This will truly be a unique mobile shopping experience."
These specialized shops will vary in size, the largest being around 460 square feet. Larger shops will showcase a "Samsung Connected Solutions" area to demonstrate Samsung devices being connected to and sharing content with each other.
The announcement comes on the heels of Best Buy ending a six-month pilot program that saw Geek Squad agents offer installation, repair, and warranty services to electronics customers at 29 Target locations. It also comes at a time when Apple and Samsung are vying for control of the mobile market with competing platforms (iOS and Android).
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I swore never to set foot in a “Best Buy” ever again.
Walmart showed me the box it came in.
Samsung is kicking some fruits behind.
I’m liking Best Buy more and more.
I’ve been a loyal Sprint customer for over 10 years. All the major carriers suck, So I might as well stay at Sprint since they suck less. Anyway, I’ve bought many a phone at Sprint stores and online at Sprint.com and have always been treasted like (bleep).
Last couple of times, I’ve gone to Best Buy to replace my phones and have been truly impressed. I’ll never set foot in a Sprint store again.
I have a similar expereince when I bought a Samsung laptop at BB last Christmas. I was in and out and had excellent customer service. In a month or so when the Galaxy S4 comes out and they cut the price of the S3; I’ll go to BB and buy one.
Same here...
Years ago a Best Buy sales associate walked up to me and called me “dude.”
This “dude” left and never returned.
lolol
At least the “dude” walked up to you. Do you remember (like I do) being in a Circuit City. Even if you were lucky and found someone to assist you, it was still a bad experience.
Useless when people don’t have jobs.
Bricks & mortar stores, such as Best Buy, have been losing a lot of business to online retailers, such as Amazon. Meanwhile the pure Internet retailers have been free-riding on the “show-rooming” services provided by the b&m stores.
This leads the b&m stores to use aggressive sales techniques, to try to convert the lookers to buyers — which results in a less-than-enjoyable shopping experience. And, that results in even more people shopping on line — a vicious circle, which leads straight to the drain for the b&m stores.
Also, as others have commented, many of the sales staff at large b&m stores aren't very knowledgeable about the products. Plus, the “hands-on” experience is very limited — often being no more than a chance to touch the box, while the product is hidden behind glass.
By opening their own showrooms within b&m stores, companies like Samsung can ensure that their products stand out from the rest of the clutter on the shelves; and that they are demonstrated by knowledgeable staff. The customer gets a better shopping experience, and learns more about the product.
Samsung, etc. are indifferent about where their products are bought. If their in-store showroom leads someone to buy from (say) the telco’s on-line outlet, that's still a sale for Samsung. Meanwhile (I'm assuming) Best Buy is being compensated for their floor space, and is not spending money on sales staff. IOW, the b&m store is not providing free show-rooming for their on-line competitors.
I expect to see more of this. Sony, for instance, has their own retail outlets in malls — why not in big-box electronics stores too?
Makes sense to me....I like to touch stuff before I buy.
BB would be better off with a vegetable stand in their parking lot.
Why not? You go to the Apple store to buy phones and tablets.
If Best Buy followed your suggestion, you could there to buy: peaches, pears, pomegranates, plums, parsley, peppers, pumpkins — everything from acorn squash to zucchini. But, no apples.
I’m with you on that. Their return policy has turned me against them, not to mention the person at the door who demands to check your receipt against the stuff in your bag when you are two steps away and witnessed the whole transaction. Never again.
My comment was directed at Best Buy, which, I think, has outlived its usefulness and needs to be fundamentally reinvented, not patched up.
And setting up a franchise like no one has ever seen in Best Buy’s front yard won't get many folks in Best Buy stores. BB’s weakness is that it sells everybody else’s stuff, not its own.
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