Sunday, November 02, 2008

BestBuy Mobile Concept Stores



View Full-Size Image Here

Okay, so I was going back-and-forth with Barry Judge (CMO of Best Buy), on Twitter.com about the new Best Buy Mobile test store that opened recently in Mall Of America. He posted the photos to his blog Barry Judge Blog's Best Buy Mobile Stores, and I took a stab at a critique.

I think the stores are a breath of fresh air compared to their 'big-box' parents. The challenge is that the retail formats and locations are entirely different. Malls are for teenagers and the parents that drop them off. In order to keep steady traffic you are going to need products that teens can buy and commit to on their own such as; affordable mobile accessories and no-contract phones.

If the Best Buy mobile employees can perform enough demos and have the since of cool in-the-air, teens will drag their parents into the store to beg for the more high-end products. You might even sell them a plan or two. Really push the family plans and monitored phone usage.

-itsTripple