Recently, Best Buy partnered with PCH international to offer hardware start-ups shelf space in its retail stores. Termed as the “Ignite Program”, under this partnership, a newly opened Best Buy store will have dedicated space for start-up hardware products such as Muzik Spotify enabled headphones, the Noke smartlock and the Zuli smartplug. While Best Buy has been working with start-ups in the past, this program is expected to make it easier and faster for customers to view new products launched by start-ups. We believe that, as e-commerce witnesses rapid growth and consumers prefer the convenience of shopping for standard electronics online, Best Buy can benefit from bringing innovative products to its store. Customers should be drawn to its brick and mortar stores to try out the cool new gadgets displayed by the company. Such gadgets, we note, are less likely to be purchased online without a demo or test. While this is still a pilot plan, we believe this strategy can provide Best Buy with a competitive edge and drive store traffic and revenues over the long term.
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