One year ago, Best Buy announced its interest in the automotive space. Best Buy’s interest went as far as potentially selling electric scooters next to its washers and dryers. While that has not yet become a reality for the electronics retail giant with 1,100 stores nationwide in the United States, Best Buy will have a growing piece of the pie with automotive electronics, thanks to the Geek Squad and the mobile installer bays that the company’s stores all offer.
According to recent data from Best Buy, it has been installing electronics in cars for more than 25 years. This accounts today to roughly 1 million installs each year in total, taking into account the steady decline in automotive aftermarket electronics sales. The company also claims to have more than 2,200 Mobile Electronics Certified Professional (MECP) Certified Automotive Technicians as well as 80 out of 140 of the MECP Master Installers worldwide.
Best Buy’s claim to automotive electronics specialization tugs at the heartstrings of original equipment manufacturers looking for installer networks nationwide. With more than 1,000 locations open seven days a week, it’s no wonder it has taken off in this area recently.
For example, when General Motors’ OnStar decided to finally launch a telematics system on the aftermarket, it turned to Best Buy. As a partner in the program, Best Buy not only will sell the $299 OnStar module to anyone interested, it also will take part in installing and activating the system for users. After selling the boxed-OnStar solution from end caps, Best Buy will glue it to the windshield, connect it to the 12-volt electrical line—which most modern vehicle have already—and press the OnStar blue button to begin activation. One question remains on this front, however: With Best Buy providing lifetime warranties on all its installations, how this meshes with OnStar’s support is unclear.
The OnStar partnership is familiar to the rest of the auto electronics that Best Buy has peddled throughout the years, but the retailer now have a significant home-appliances business ranging from microwaves and refrigerators to washers and dryers. Yet, the newest home appliance Best Buy is getting involved in is the electric vehicle, which in most cases will run off the same 220 volt outlet used by appliances.
In addition to working with General Motors on the OnStar system, Best Buy has partnered with Ford to distribute and install its Focus Electric charge points. The product is supplied by Leviton—an electrical, lighting, and network solutions company headquartered in Melville, NY. Leviton has produced the first modular charging station, needing only an outlet and a nail for installation. For its part, the Geek Squad has promised a hassle-free procedure—it will come and plug in the charge point to the outlet and hang the device on the wall.
The charger unit comes with a 10-year hardware warranty and is manufactured in the United States. The 32-amp unit reportedly will charge the Focus Electric from dead to fully charged in approximately 3.1 hours. Plus, the system is 60 percent post-consumer material and carries a $1,499 manufacturer’s suggested retail price—which currently is the lowest cost for an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) unit on the market today.
Ford and Best Buy have had a relationship before, as the Geek Squad has been working with Ford customers and its Sync product since fall 2009. The Best Buy-trained associates can help educate Ford drivers on all the features of Sync at locations nationwide. While the Ford dealer network was the first line of contact, Best Buy Mobile served as a resource for consumers to help with phone pairing and other Sync-related questions.
So while EV technology is currently on its mind, Best Buy has had fingers in the pie for a while. IHS iSuppli expects more auto industry relationships from Best Buy in the near future as well.
Learn More > IHS iSuppli’s Navigation, Telematics and Digital Entertainment