Bye bye, Best Buy?

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I admit it: I shop at online retailers all the time. A significant chunk of the Christmas presents I gave this year were in the form of Amazon gift certificates. And if you’ve been reading me here for any length of time, you know that I spend more time browsing andbuying things from Newegg than I do hanging out with some members of my family. But I still felt my heart sink into my kneecaps as I read Larry Downes’s story on Forbes.com, “Why Best Buy is Going out of Business… Gradually.”

In the story, Downes cites some chilling statistics about Best Buy losing market share, 40% of its value, a decreased market cap, and a B- average analyst rating. He also discusses the ways the company has failed to extricate itself from old-world thinking. In the ways its employees order products, aggressively try to up-sell or cross-sell when dealing with shoppers, and even address their own mistakes, the company is digging its own grave. Where Amazon makes even the most tedious and usually distasteful tasks a breeze — never have I had an easier time exchanging a product than I did my malfunctioning first Kindle — Best Buy introduces only frustration and confusion. And thus it’s no surprise that customers are turning away from it in favor of other options.

Given what’s already happened to other major electronics chains like CompUSA and Circuit City, there’s real reason to fear the disintegration of Best Buy. And if or (gulp) when it happens, it would be a major loss to both casual and serious buyers.

Wait — please don’t brand me as some incurable Luddite who can’t negotiate the transition to a digital marketplace. That’s not remotely true. Aside from clothes, certain tech products are about the only things I feel a need to buy in person. When I’m getting books — hey, not everything is yet available for my (replacement) Kindle — I never hesitate to do that online rather than at one of New York City’s roughly 800 Barnes & Noble stores. I’ve never accepted the argument that being able to rifle through a book’s pages and feel its cover is of any particular importance; for me, what matters is the content on the inside, and the easier that is to acquire, the better. Ditto cookware and other basic household appliances.

But when it comes to many tech-related purchases, being able to see, and in many cases feel, what you’re getting is crucial to making sure you’re not wasting your money or your time. For all the benefits of Amazon and Newegg, they prevent the direct interaction that is sometimes the most important information you can acquire before you lay down your credit card. Online reviews are frequently excellent for assessing a product’s bare capabilities, and especially good sites (like Newegg) give you all the specifications you need to make an intellectually informed decision. That’s just not always enough. Don’t you want to see your prospective HDTV’s screen in action, slide your fingers across a keyboard to see if it meshes with your typing style and preferences, get a concrete idea of how convenient a laptop really is for you, or sit down at the fully featured desk you plan to buy for using that computer? Even with our current, highly advanced web-based purchasing culture, some things can’t be left to mere faith.