CE chain gets a jump start on Q4
By Alan Wolf, YSN
In an effort to get the drop on the holiday selling season, Best Buy has already begun flexing its fourth-quarter muscle.
Pushing back the holiday sales period ever earlier, the last remaining national CE chain is kicking off its Q4 push on Oct. 1 with a month-long series of exclusive sales events. These include a three-day promotion (Oct. 6-8) that provides a store credit of $100 to shoppers who spend $1,000 on Samsung appliances or home theater products.
TVs will also be the focus of a a 48-hour flash sale (Oct. 10-11), and members of the retailer’s My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total loyalty plans will receive store credits, exclusive discounts and early access (Oct. 27-29) to some of the box store’s Black Friday deals.
Related: AVB Boosts Match Funding for Q4-Q1 Bundles
Besides getting first in line for the holiday hoopla, the early sales events may be timed to blunt Amazon’s much-touted Prime Day promotion, set for Oct. 10-11. Both ploys may set the unofficial start of the holiday selling season back even further from its already preemptive Nov. 1 kickoff.
Best Buy is also touting an expanded assortment of outdoor products this holiday season, which features twice as many cooking brands as last year. Items include Ooni pizza ovens, Traeger pellet grills, Pit Boss griddles and Yardbird furniture, among others.
Elsewhere, the retailer promises “the ultimate shopping experience” for luxury appliances and new product categories within the immersive demo areas of its 50 Experience stores, plus deeply discounted open-box and clearance TVs and appliances at its 20 Outlet stores nationwide.
“Our teams are ready to deliver a holiday like never before — with more savings, convenient gift pick-up and delivery, as well as new in-store, online and virtual experiences that will inspire customers while they shop this season,” said Jason Bonfig, senior executive vice president of customer offerings and fulfillment at Best Buy. “We’ll also have our broadest collection to date of new and emerging technologies, like e-transportation, health and wellness and outdoor living, and more ways to help shoppers get the expert advice we know they’re looking for.”
