Dive Brief:
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Best Buy is carving out yet another store-within-store space for Samsung products, adding an area dedicated to Samsung home appliances.
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The retailer already has a Samsung television and home-theater concession and a Samsung mobile phone and tablet concession.
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Best Buy’s Samsung appliance departments will sport touchscreens with interactive tours and the ability to map out custom features.
Dive Insight:
As the Internet of Things slowly gains traction with a wider swath of consumers, technology has increasingly become a part of such mundane household goods as refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. Samsung’s appliances are among the most advanced in this area. The question of whether the Internet of Things will help move more consumers to spend a bit more on more tech-oriented devices for their home is still out there — but it's something that Best Buy and Sears seem to be betting on.
Meanwhile, Best Buy’s relationship with Samsung appears to have reached a certain synergy. “It’s a good partnership,” Best Buy spokesman Jeff Haydock told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “Samsung has done a great job in bringing technology into appliances.”
The mini-store-within-a-store concept in general has been a successful approach for Best Buy, which has, like many electronics retailers, struggled of late.