Best Buy named leading high-def retailer

Amazon, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Target in Top 5

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/5/2007

OCT. 5 | Best Buy has emerged as the leading retailer of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD titles by a wide margin, easily topping DVD-dominant Wal-Mart, according to the NPD Group.

Wal-Mart carries a third-place share of the high-definition software market, followed by Circuit City and Target. Amazon.com sits in second.

NPD declined to report specific unit sales shares for each of the retailers but noted that Best Buy is far in front. Amazon.com and the rest are mostly clustered together for the second through fifth spots.

Best Buy’s fanboy and fangirl consumer base, coupled with its commitment to customer service, has boosted the chain’s high-def performance, said Brian Lucas, spokesman for the chain.

“We generally have an audience that loves movies, where they are not casual fans, and these people are likely to have a great home theater experience,” said Lucas. “As one of the market leaders in HDTV sales, our customers tend to understand high-def more than the average consumer.”

Lucas noted that Best Buy’s ‘blue-shirt’ staff regularly talk to customers about the incompatibility between Blu-ray and HD DVD, and he said that honesty has encouraged consumer interest in high-def.

Similarly, Amazon.com management chalks up its high-def market strength to its informational approach to merchandising.

“There has been much written in recent days about customer confusion surrounding high-definition,” Amazon.com spokeswoman Tammy Hovey said. “In order to address this need and ensure that our customers can make the best educated buying decisions, we’ve recently opened the Hi-Def 101 Customer Knowledge Center. Hi-Def 101 is a one-stop education and shopping destination that allows visitors to explore a comprehensive lineup of high-def categories, including HDTVs, movie players, game systems, PC options, accessories and movies, while getting the facts on how to ‘high-def’ their homes.”

Also, since the launch of Blu-ray and HD DVD last year, Best Buy has steadily opened up more shelf space to high-def. With its virtual shelves, Amazon.com boasts one of the most extensive selections of Blu-ray and HD DVD, as well.

Both Best Buy and Amazon.com also have frequently rolled out high-def promotions, further underscoring their Blu-ray and HD DVD offerings. Best Buy shoppers can score nine free HD DVDs with purchase of the $399 Toshiba player. At Amazon.com, customers can now get seven HD DVDs and seven Blu-ray titles for free with purchase of certain accompanying players.