{"id":8504,"date":"2023-05-14T08:16:10","date_gmt":"2023-05-14T12:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/investing\/best-buy-expands-its-paid-membership-options-but-will-shoppers-go-for-them\/"},"modified":"2023-05-14T08:16:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-14T12:16:11","slug":"best-buy-expands-its-paid-membership-options-but-will-shoppers-go-for-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=8504","title":{"rendered":"Best Buy expands its paid membership options, but will shoppers go for them?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Best Buy is upping its membership offerings. But retail and marketing experts are questioning if consumers will see the value in paying for the perks the electronics giant is providing.<\/p>\n

The Minneapolis-based company
\n BBY,
\n +0.15%<\/bg-quote>
\n announced Thursday an array of membership options, dubbed My Best Buy Memberships. The key added offering is My Best Buy Plus, which costs $49.99 annually and includes free two-day shipping, exclusive member-only prices on items, exclusive access to sales and \u201chighly anticipated products\u201d and an extended return\/exchange policy.<\/p>\n

\n

There are two other plans: My Best Buy, an existing free membership program that offers basic benefits, and My Best Buy Total, which runs $179.99 annually and builds on My Best Buy Plus\u2019s benefits by adding 24\/7 tech support via the Geek Squad and two years of product protection, including AppleCare+, among other perks. My Best Buy Total replaces a previous paid program called Best Buy Totaltech that was launched in 2021.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Patrick McGinnis, a senior vice president of memberships at Best Buy, said the company has learned from its existing membership programs that \u201cdifferent customers value very different benefits when it comes to their technology.\u201d In turn, that inspired the current changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cCreating these new membership options allows us to be there for all of our customers in the ways that are most important to them,\u201d McGinnis said.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong> Best Buy tackles sale slump with new membership plan<\/p>\n

More retailers appear to be jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to launching paid memberships that provide free shipping and other benefits. It\u2019s an idea that Amazon
\n AMZN,
\n -1.71%<\/bg-quote>
\n pioneered with its Amazon Prime program that was introduced in 2005 and now runs $139 per year. For example, Walmart
\n WMT,
\n -0.03%<\/bg-quote>
\n unveiled its Walmart+ program, which now runs $12.95 a month, a few years ago.<\/p>\n

The programs make sense for retailers on two levels, said Thomas Donohoe, author of \u201cThe CEO\u2019s Digital Marketing Playbook.\u201d First, they obviously bring in money from the membership fee itself \u2014 and Donohoe notes the cost of running these programs can be relatively little in relation to the charge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe margins on these things are insane,\u201d Donohoe said.<\/p>\n

But just as important, Donohoe adds, is the fact membership programs prompt customers to return to a retailer again and again \u2014 something that\u2019s invaluable in today\u2019s competitive shopping landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time you can\u00a0nudge a consumer\u00a0a few feet closer to your doorstep, that\u2019s a good thing,\u201d Donohoe said.<\/p>\n

The problem with Best Buy\u2019s key new My Best Buy Plus offering, Donohoe says, is that it doesn\u2019t offer much for its roughly $50 price, especially given that consumers aren\u2019t likely to shop at an electronics store all that often in a given year.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a view seconded by Neil Saunders, a managing director of GlobalData Retail, a research company.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery few people are going into Best Buy week in, week out,\u201d he said, adding that the $50 charge is \u201ca lot if you don\u2019t get the use for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Best Buy spokesperson told MarketWatch that customers find value in free shipping, membership-only pricing and other benefits. The spokesperson also said the company has the option to add or change membership benefits over time to meet customer needs.<\/p>\n

Also read:<\/strong> As consumers pull back on discretionary spending, what\u2019s next for retail?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Best Buy is upping its membership offerings. But retail and marketing experts are questioning if consumers will see the value in paying for the perks the electronics giant is providing. The Minneapolis-based company BBY, +0.15% announced Thursday an array of membership options, dubbed My Best Buy Memberships. The key added offering is My Best Buy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[239],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-8504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing","tag-featured","post_format-post-format-video"],"yoast_head":"\nBest Buy expands its paid membership options, but will shoppers go for them? | iFintechWorld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Best Buy is upping its membership offerings. 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