Best Buy Will Price Match Amazon For Holiday Shopping Season

Want to hold that awesome new piece of electronics equipment and then buy it at rock bottom prices on the spot? This holiday season Best Buy will match prices typically reserved for online retailer Amazon.

Sick and tired of customers using its stores as “showrooms” for Amazon purchases, the company has initiated the plan in order to keep customers in its stores.

Best Buy has lost out on millions of dollars in sales because of Amazon Prime, a service that allows customers to receive free 2-day shipping for just $79 per year. After visiting Best Buy stores for in-hand demonstrations, customers have been known to use their Amazon smartphone apps to buy items from the online retailer while standing inside Best Buy stores.

While Best Buy tends not to officially acknowledge its showroom status, the company has attempted to make its showroom more convenient for customers so they will stay longer and ultimately choose the convenience of a storefront purchase.

With Wal-Mart and Amazon both testing same-day delivery services and Target rolling out a website friendly QR code program for holiday toys, the need to develop a loyal brick-and-mortar following has never been more important for stores like Best Buy which focus on in-store purchases.

During the holiday shopping season, Amazon offered a discount to any customers who scanned store items and then used the Amazon app to make their purchases online.

Best Buy’s attempt to stay relevant comes only several months after the publicly traded company announced plans to close 50 Best Buy locations throughout the United States.