Best Buy a started piloting a $ 200 membership program to compete with Amazon Prime and Walmart’s own take on a subscription service. It’s called Best Buy Beta, and while it costs a lot more than a year of Prime ($ 119), it does offer perks that focus on providing service to customers who have a bunch of electronics in their homes. . Members will receive unlimited technical support from Geek Squad on any technology they own, whether purchased from Best Buy or not. They also get free installation on most products and a two-year warranty on most of their purchases, including AppleCare on Apple products.
Its other perks are free shipping with no minimum, an extended 60-day return window, exclusive member selling prices, a 10% discount on subscription services billed by Best Buy, and a dedicated concierge service. The membership program, however, does not include subscription to a streaming video platform like Video premium. At this time, the program is available in select stores in Iowa, Oklahoma, and eastern Pennsylvania. It will expand to more locations across Minnesota, North Carolina and Tennessee in the coming weeks until it becomes available in 60 stores by the end of April.
A spokesperson said Bloomberg that Best Buy Beta will replace Total Tech Support, the company’s current $ 200 membership program that also offers unlimited tech support and Geek Squad protection at a discount, in pilot markets. It could end up replacing full tech support across the United States in the future, but that may depend on how well it is received by the retail giant’s customers.
