Best Buy provides yet another Connected Society confirming data point
Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N) on Wednesday reported an unexpected drop in same-store sales for the holiday quarter, the latest example of an electronics retailer struggling with waning demand and fierce competition from online stores.The retailer said sales at stores open for more than a year fell 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter. Analysts were expecting an increase of 0.5 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.Best Buy blamed weak demand for tablets, gaming consoles, wearable devices and mobile phones and said it expects sales at its established stores to drop 1-2 percent in the current quarter.
Source: Best Buy posts unexpected drop in same-store sales, shares dip | Reuters
Yes, the cycle of users upgrading their phone has slowed down. Yes, tablet sales across the board have slowed. Yes, gaming console sales aren’t what they once were. But what little growth and demand there is, consumers are headed online for those purchases rather than schlepping to a retail strip mall to search around a store to find someone to help you, only to discover that they are out of stock of the item you want and to return to your car to find a nice new door ding in the side of your car. The only upside unlike the days gone by of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, you don’t have to work very hard to find a parking spot.
