Will Best Buy wrap up Black Friday sales with a price match guarantee in October?
Source: bestbuy.com

Will Best Buy wrap up Black Friday sales with a price match guarantee in October?

For the first time, Best Buy is launching a promotion on select TVs and home theater products that includes a guarantee basically promising to refund the difference should the price head lower on Black Friday. Another unique element is that the promotion is reserved for My Best Buy rewards members. 

The Magnolia Anniversary Sale, honoring the launch of its Magnolia Home Theater in-store shops in 2004, runs from Oct. 6 to Oct. 20. The deal features sales on TVs from the likes of Samsung, Sony and LG, as well as audio products from Denon and MartinLogan.

Some of the biggest deals include:

  • Sony 55-inch Class OLED A8G Series Smart 4K UHD TV with HDR – $1,499.99, originally $2,299.99;
  • Samsung 75-inch Class LED Q90 Series Smart 4K UHD TV with HDR – $3,499.99, originally $4,799.99;
  • Definitive Technology SuperCube 2,000 7.5-inch 650W powered subwoofer – $299.98, originally $599.98.

“If our price goes lower on qualified items between now and Black Friday, we will send you a refund for the difference. Valid for My Best Buy members only,” Best Buy writes on its website.

My Best Buy has three rewards levels, depending on annual spend, including a free membership option.

As CNET pointed out, Best Buy’s guarantee should curb competition. Amazon.com, Target, Walmart and others could offer price match guarantees, but those competitors won’t honor Best Buy’s guarantee to match a better deal before and on Black Friday. 

Many retailers, including Amazon, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Target, Walmart and Wayfair have been increasingly holding early Black Friday, blockbuster-like promotions, with some referring to them as “Pre-Black Friday” sales. Those deals, however, generally arrive in early to mid-November.

BrainTrust

"I’m anxious to see how competitors respond. Let the Black Friday games begin!"

Georganne Bender

Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking


"This is a great way to spread out sales and not have it all hit in one weekend."

Liz Adamson

VP of Advertising | Buy Box Experts


"...short term, we can pat Best Buy on the back all we want as long as we remember that in the long term it is the seller, not the buyer, that best beware."

Ryan Mathews

Founder, CEO, Black Monk Consulting


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Is Best Buy’s price guarantee promotion a compelling twist on an early Black Friday deal? What do you think of early Black Friday deals in general?

Poll

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Neil Saunders
Famed Member
4 years ago

Potentially this could help smooth demand as it will give customers the confidence to purchase now rather than waiting until the Black Friday deals hit. That may give Best Buy an edge over rivals as it can lock in spend now, ahead of all the other promotions.

Jeff Sward
Noble Member
4 years ago

Wow. Black Friday just crept — actually, make that pole-vaulted — into October. The anticipation of Black Friday deals is a high incentive to wait for those promos. Hence the creep into pre-Black Friday timing. And now there is the flat-out elimination of any reason to wait on select products. Maybe it’s simply clever marketing on a promotion that would have run anyway. But it certainly gives the customer comfort about buying now versus later.

Shep Hyken
Active Member
4 years ago

Great move! This will get customers to shop early and buy early. Customers do all their research and purchase planning ahead of Black Friday, and then they wait. No longer!

Georganne Bender
Noble Member
4 years ago

This is brilliant. Why would anyone want to buy these items anywhere else? The bonus for consumers is not having to wait until all the hassles of Black Friday to buy. I’m anxious to see how competitors respond. Let the Black Friday games begin!

Michael Terpkosh
Member
4 years ago

The Best Buy early deals and price guarantee are nice incentives for customers using the My Best Buy loyalty program. Plus, Best Buy is getting some free press about the guarantee that could create increased consumer participation in the loyalty program. Best Buy should get a sales boost leading up to the holidays that can also help their supply chain stay more efficient. Of course there is the fine print of “only guaranteed through Black Friday” meaning December is still fair-game for price reductions at Best Buy, especially if the competition gets hot.

Ken Wyker
Member
4 years ago

The element of this that I really like is that Best Buy is tapping into Black Friday enthusiasm early, but their guarantee is only to match their own Black Friday pricing and only for rewards members.

Best Buy is in complete control of whether or not any of the items will qualify for a price match. More importantly, competitors can’t really respond effectively. Even though Amazon is matching the prices, customers might as well buy at Best Buy just in case the price does go lower.

Cathy Hotka
Trusted Member
4 years ago

This is a great idea. Loads of people shop early for Christmas; Best Buy’s promise guarantees they’ll get the best price, no matter what…this is an idea that could really catch on.

Mel Kleiman
Member
4 years ago

A winning move. All of the sudden I feel a lot better about buying a TV or other electronic item in October and I don’t even have to keep looking for the lowest price. Even if it goes on sale and I don’t see the ad, they are going to send me a refund voucher. Wow.

Meaghan Brophy
4 years ago

Best Buy’s price guarantee is a smart move. TVs are a notoriously popular Black Friday item that typically sells out fast. This promotion lets customers get the same deal without having to brave the crowds on Black Friday. Best Buy is known for exceptional customer service, so I am not surprised by this offer.

Stephen Rector
4 years ago

This is great for the members of their loyalty program! Special discounts, exclusive availability and more will continue to be offered to the most loyal shoppers. This is also a smart marketing move to get more people to sign up for the My Best Buy program! Black Friday, here we come!

Andrew Blatherwick
Member
4 years ago

This is a very clever promotion. Best Buy is in complete control but the customer thinks they are getting a great deal. If the price is dropped at other retailers for Black Friday, then all Best Buy has to do is ignore that particular item therefore not having to refund anything. They get more loyalty and sign ups to My Best Buy and also bring forward Black Friday deals to beat the competition with very little risk.

However, will this just bring forward Black Friday earlier in the year? If other retailers react then probably so. Best Buy will then have to match the promise on competitors’ prices and then there will be a potentially very big cost. Only time will tell but on the face of it this is a clever promotion.

Ryan Mathews
Trusted Member
4 years ago

This is clearly a win for the customer, assuming of course the customer is interested in the items covered by the offer. And it will no doubt boost Best Buy’s seasonal (whatever that means anymore) market share in the short run, but I’m a little concerned that: a.) long term, retailers will end up engaging in some kind of mutual profit suicide pact in a race to the bottom of profitability; and b.) that now that the “holiday” period has been (officially) expanded to run from October to January that September sales won’t be far behind; and c.) that all this extension may, one day, result in consumer backlash. Put a simpler way, retailers have to ask themselves what the long-term benefit is of being the lowest cost provider of consumer goods in a market where shoppers are conditioned to expect ever declining costs for the full third of the year — or more — known as the holiday period. The traditional answer would be that by capturing those dollars early you eventually force your competition out of business and then let your prices float back up to profitability. But that hasn’t really worked so well in practice since the advent of e-commerce. So short term, we can pat Best Buy on the back all we want as long as we remember that in the long term it is the seller, not the buyer, that best beware. Besides … the idea of Christmas music in July makes me shudder.

Liz Adamson
4 years ago

This is a great way to spread out sales and not have it all hit in one weekend. It’s also a benefit to customers who don’t want to deal with the crowds and hassle of Black Friday. It will be interesting to see how competition responds. I don’t expect they will try to price match Best Buy. Some may try a similar promotion, many may come up with their own promotions to draw customers in early.

Brandon Rael
Active Member
4 years ago

Simply a brilliant move by Best Buy. Commerce is a 24/7 phenomenon and the significance of Black Friday is somewhat diminished, as retailers such as Best Buy look to capitalize on consumers trying to avoid the rush and chaos of the holiday season. The smoothing of the demand cycle by promotion-driven strategies, along with the price match guarantee, may just give Best Buy a distinct advantage heading into the holiday season.

Liz Crawford
Member
4 years ago

A smart move by Best Buy. They are turning showrooming on its head — let consumers shop for prices online, then go to Best Buy to purchase. Why bother going to Best Buy? Because consumers want to see and touch this high involvement purchase. Perfect solution.

Dave Nixon
4 years ago

Using the buying power consumers have now versus during the holiday season where a big chunk of spending happens, this approach will not only reduce competition, but also capture additional sales when the holiday does arrive. How many times have you bought an item early for a gift and still bought more gifts in the run-up to the event? If they automatically send the rebate checks without forcing your customers to have to jump through hoops to get them, this could be huge.

Jeffrey McNulty
4 years ago

What an excellent differentiator for Best Buy. Most consumers are holding off on buying electronic items until Black Friday or Cyber Monday due to trepidation about aggressive holiday pricing discounts. This unique strategy will provide customers with a “safeguard” against decreasing prices. Best Buy is throwing down the price guarantee gauntlet for their competitors to match.