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October 4, 2023
Should Best Buy Join Drop Culture?
Best Buy for the holiday season is introducing Best Buy Drops, offering consumers limited-time deals on electronic gadgets accessible from their mobile phones.
“This holiday season, Best Buy Drops is giving customers the opportunity to get their hands on exciting product releases, limited runs, launches and serious savings — all in real time,” Best Buy said in a press release. “But you’ll need to act fast because each Drop is only available in limited quantities and exclusively through the Best Buy App.”
After downloading the Best Buy app and finding the Drop section, consumers will find a preview of product releases or deals landing within the next week. If they opt-in to Drop Alerts on an item, a push notification will arrive shortly before the drops they’re interested in go live. They’ll have to be prepared to make a purchase at that time before inventories run out.
My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total members earn “even deeper discounts” on select drops.
The drops will range across items, including gaming consoles and accessories, e-transportation products, wearable devices, smart home devices, small appliances, and toys. Multiple drops will arrive nearly every week over the holiday season.
“Drops” reference the broader “drop culture” fashion trend, which uses a scarcity model to stoke demand. The trend was catalyzed by Nike’s introduction of the Air Jordan in the mid-80s and the U.S. skatewear brand Supreme’s collaborations with other brands on limited, timed releases. Hyped on social media and streetwear blogs, releases from brands like these often sell out immediately and appear later on eBay at much higher prices.
Drops have become more common in recent years, with buzz around limited-edition sneakers, apparel, and jewelry, often in collaboration with designers. Fast-food chains now commonly release or bring back items for a limited time as well.
Best Buy Drops appears to work similarly to Amazon’s Lightning Deal promotion, which offers a limited number of discounts to Prime members on certain items for a short period. Lightning Deals are available on Amazon’s Today’s Deals page or around its Prime Day events.
On its second-quarter analyst call this year, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said the consumer electronics chain was testing different promotional offers in anticipation that holiday shoppers will be looking for savings.
“Our hypothesis regarding the holiday season is that the consumer largely returns to pre-pandemic behavior,” said Barry. “By this, we mean that they will be looking for great deals and convenience and traffic will be weighted toward promotional events.”
Discussion Questions
Do drops, or limited-quantity, limited-time deals, make as much sense for a category such as electronics as fashion? Do you see Best Buy Drops helping the chain reach gamers, younger customers in general, or some other demographic?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Lisa Taylor
Retail Consultant, JL Buchanan
Katie Riddle
Global Retail Strategist, Verizon
Jeff Sward
Founding Partner, Merchandising Metrics
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Given the electronics market remains in the doldrums, Best But is right to try and inject some excitement and energy, Limited time deals may stimulate some buying activity, especially as the consumer will be looking for deals. However, it will be interesting to see how much incremental revenue is generated by this tactic. I also think that drops work far less well in electronics than in fashion, mainly because the latter is usually about exclusive product as well as about promotions.
A Flash Sale by any other name? Driving demand with limited quantities in a constrained time frame can work but the price of the item either limits the impulsivity of the item or drives it. Electronics typically comes with a high $. Unless it is the holiday product of the season, the success will be impacted. Although selling something vs. nothing is a win! Better to try than sit still and expect different outcomes.
I think electronics brands like Apple are already doing drop culture to some extent, so I’m not sure what Best Buy adds to the equation except promoting scarcity. Because of the high price point, I don’t think electronics are as subject to whims and emotional buying as fashion.
Shades of the Kmart Blue Light Special! I love the idea, actually…limited-time specials do seem to offer up a dose of urgency. The folks at Best Buy keep doing things right.
Limited release items can be highly successful as we’ve seen in fashion, sneakers and jewelry, but electronics, gaming and appliances tend to be more commoditized and it will be interesting to watch this unfold. Given a compelling price point strategy for Best Buy’s categories, these drops could produce a lot of excitement, and I hope their execution is flawless.
Drops make sense for electronics if there is something compelling to talk about. Limited edition/quantity colors, partnerships with designers, exclusive products that make you say “I want that!” are legitimately drop worthy. They need to use it to drive true excitement and energy, otherwise, this is just a different term for sale and people aren’t going to get any more excited about it than any other short term promotion just because it’s called a drop.
Drops, Flash, 24 hour specials, bring it on. I find it a bit fascinating that another category of mass market promotion is a new strategy vs highly personalized offerings based on browsing retargeting, or shopping history.
Best Buy, armed with the strategy of real-time drops, dives into the competitive arena to capture the hearts of gamers and tech-savvy youth during the holiday season. Drops make sense for electronics because they create urgency, mimicking the hype of limited releases. Consumers seek deals and excitement, aligning with pre-pandemic shopping behavior.
Best Buy Drops seem tailored to attract gamers and younger customers. The real-time, limited-quantity deals align with the excitement and urgency often seen in gaming and tech culture, making it a smart move to engage that demographic.
This is a great idea and will drive app download/engagement, which will be a huge win.
I’m a huge believer in the scarcity model. Offering deals on best sellers is a whole different game than promos and discounts on worst sellers or end of season ‘stuff’. Hopefully the “limited edition” handle does not get over used. One Day Sales today don’t bear much resemblance to the original events. Scarcity and limited edition have to stay true to their definitions.
Shoppers like deals-that is a time tested truth. Make the deals interesting, and dare I type it, fun, and yes, I think this is a winner for Best Buy, across all demographics.
Personally, I will be “on the lookout” for the $100 Macbook pro. Probably for a long long time, but still.
Drops are a “thing,” particularly in the land of high-end sneakers. I would say if Best Buy can get the product that will matter to people, it’ll be great.
Anything but door busters….please.
Some people will love this…and some will absolutely hate it. I’m guessing the latter group will eventually overwhelm the former. While I understand the psychology at work here , I don’t think it’s particularly healthy for retail, in general. There’ve always been theatrical retailers – we’ve seen them occasionaly spotlighted here on RW – and that’s fine, but gimmickry should not be the MO for a major chain.
Fashion, food and drink are the perfect boost for drops and flash sales. All are consumable by nature, are driven by trends or a need, and all are legitimate to be out the next day.
Electronics, toner, and accessories don’t hold the same cache or urgency. New models or versions come out soon, are often cheaper or better. This probably won’t get much traction beyond a small % of customers.
I think “Drops” can certainly make sense for a category such as electronics, just as they do for fashion and other consumer items. Limited-time offers or “Drops,” are designed to appeal to a range of customers, including gamers, younger individuals, and tech enthusiasts of all ages. The idea behind such a strategy is to create a sense of exclusivity to generate excitement, boost sales, and improve the overall shopping experience, especially during the holiday season.
In my opinion, the “Drops” initiative can definitely help Best Buy, if it is the result of a well-thought-out plan that aligns with current trends. Additionally, for a remarkable shopping journey, “Best Buy” can take advantage of mobile technology to reach out to their customers wherever they are and offer occasional discounts, turning one-time shoppers into loyal customers.