Integrators Unfazed By Best Buy Offer

For retailers with installation services, getting into a client’s home has made it easier to sell additional products and services. The strategy is not lost on Best Buy.

The retailer recently announced a new initiative to provide free delivery, product recycling, simple hookup and removal of the packaging with the purchase of TVs starting at $1,000. While the move raised some eyebrows among custom installers and independent retailers, it doesn’t cause much worry. Their foot in a customer’s door, they said, makes a much bigger imprint than Best Buy’s for a lot more significant reasons than sheer size or market clout.

“All something like that does is encourage a TV buy at Best Buy by the customer who would otherwise have bought at a Walmart,” said Peter Shipp, principal of Architectural Electronics in Winter Park, Fla. “They’re taking out business from another big-box store.”