- Shoppers Want 70% Off—and Something Fuzzy
- The Christmas Tree Indicator: Myth or Magic?
- Are Toys Too Pricey for a Recession?
- Rustling Through the Bargain Bin for Retail Stocks
- Blue Nile Turns to Discounts to Put Sparkle in the Holidays
- For True Love, It's the Most Expensive Christmas Ever!
- How Low Can Retailers Go?
- Scenes From The Mall: Picky, Picky, Picky
- Amazon Expected to Crush Rivals With 'Ridiculous Deals'
- Shades of Gray for Black Friday
- Lightning Round: Microsoft, Motorola, NYSE and More
- Lightning Round OT: Hertz, Textron and More
- Mad Mail: Cramer's Plan for the SEC
- The Plaxico Burress Good Judgment Award
- Cramer's Call on Celgene
- Your First Move For Thursday December 4th
- Web Extra: Fast & Furious Trades For Thursday
- Cramer's M&A Plays
- Retailers Move Market?
- <Headline>Euro Stocks to Open Flat before Rate Decisions</Headline>
- Nomura to Cut Up to 1,000 Positions in London
- Capital One to Purchase Chevy Chase
- Australia Economy Injured as Vehicle Sales Crash
- <Headline>Japan Faces Deep Recession, Central Banks Cut Rates</Headline>
- Banks Throw Babcock & Brown a Lifeline
- Japan Capex Data Signals Downward Revision in GDP
- Japan's Nippon Oil, Nippon Mining Plan to Merge
- Asian Markets Are Mixed, Focus on Central Banks
ABOUT THIS BLOG
|
This blog will look at the winners and losers in the retail space. Who has the right strategy to capture consumer dollars? It also will look for trends in consumer spending and how that will impact the economy.
Text Size 
 |
CNBC.com |
Break out the spandex, the high waisted pants with big belts and the big jewelry--but keep the spiral perms please. Not since the betamax-vhs battles of the 1980s have the tech and entertainment wars over video format been this heated.
I'll leave the debate over the virtues of Blu-ray vs. HD DVD to my media and tech colleagues--see links below. But today, we see my retail world getting involved.
Best Buy [BBY
Loading...
()
] is voluntarily taking a $10 million hit in order to soothe relations with customers who recently purchased an HD DVD system, a now-defunct technology. The consumer electronics giant is sending out $50 gift certificates to about 200,000 customers who purchased systems before February 23rd. Customers can also trade in their systems at www.bestbuytradein.com.
related content |
Competitor Circuit City [CC
Loading...
()
] will also let consumers return their systems for store credit. No word from Wal-Mart [WMT
Loading...
()
] , Target [TGT
Loading...
()
] and other big box stores that have dipped their ties into the entertainment retail area of late.
Why take on the cost of 'making good' when the consumer environment is this tough? This is a smart marketing and public relations move that Best Buy hopes will win it some traction with customers. The gift certificates are traffic drivers and are also timed to arrive in the beginning of May which coincides with when the tax rebate checks will be in the mail. Shoppers may then have some extra cash to add onto those gift certificates. This gesture will win Best Buy more than it costs them.
A $50 gift certificate to make up for the loss of a $400 piece of technology (or at least just partial usage of) doesn't go that far for customers. It will win good will though and help drive sales of accessories and peripheral products though--a plus for Best Buy--and be another strike against struggling competitor Circuit City.
Best Buy has mastered the public relations game of raising the profile of all of their marketing campaigns. 'Mindshare' becomes marketshare.
Questions? Comments?
Del.icio.us
Digg It
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes