Online Shopping Battle Heats Up, Best Buy Canada And Future Shop Take Aim At Competitors

BY: 

Dave Forde
August 3, 2012

Back in April, Best Buy’s CEO stepped down as the retailer faced tougher challenges with their big box store model, as well more competition from the eCommerce world. Here in Canada we’ve started to see more growth and options with the eCommerce industry, which could mean that consumers are finally ready to go payless, PayPal Canada says that 70% Canadians are ready right now. CIBC’s Jim Prentice recently said that Canada is in a prime position to be a leader in the mobile payment space.

What will Best Buy and Future Shop (owned by Best Buy) do next?  Based on a recent press release revising their “price beat policy” to reflect the following:

 Best Buy Canada and Future Shop have revised their price match and return policies in response to the changing nature of retail in Canada and commitment to customer service.

Both companies are thrilled to launch Price Beat Promise, a guarantee to customers that Best Buy Canada and Future Shop are the destinations with the lowest prices across the country. If a competitor online or in-store has an item selling for less, the companies will beat it by 10 per cent of the difference, for up to 30 days.

With eight in 10 Canadians having experienced shopping online, nine out of 10 with credit cards, the new policy acknowledges the continued integration of online and in-store shopping for Canadian consumers.

“We’re going to beat any price in-store or online for any Canadian Competitor,” said Mike Pratt, president and COO, Best Buy Canada. “Showrooming is a completely price-based concept – it’s about the perception of getting a lower price somewhere. We see our Price Beat Promise as rendering showrooming obsolete.”

The company expects to see continued traffic to their websites as a result of the increase in mobile shopping. Both Best Buy Canada and Future Shop have mobile-optimized websites as well as transaction Apps on Apple and Android platforms. The Best Buy and Future Shop apps can be downloaded from iTunes. Android users can find theBest Buy and Future Shop apps on Google Play.

According to comScore, for the month of June 2012, Future shop was ranked among the top 3 during that month, they also take the number one spot when you take a 13-month average, considering back-to-school and holiday (busiest month).  We also have a new player that has entered the battlefield, Shop.ca less than three months ago, and has already secured two strategic marketing partnerships with AOL Canada and Torstar that could give it a strong digital edge to reach Canadian consumers.

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Dave Forde


Dave “The Connector” Forde has been involved in the marketing, public relations and technology industry across Canada for over 20 years in various sales and marketing roles, he launched The Connected One network of business sites which connects buyers to the right sellers. Profectio and PR In Canada covers news about the marketing and public relations industry each day helping professionals advance their career and businesses. He also serves as an advisor to a number of businesses across the country. Find Dave on LinkedIn and Twitter.


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