Case Study: Best Buy's Retailer-Led Product Strategy

Most retailers sell other companies' goods; on occasion, they will sell products developed by others but branded as their own. Best Buy does both of those things, but the company has also done something different in order to differentiate itself in the market. First, it leveraged its deep knowledge of consumers to understand what consumer needs were unmet in the market. Second, it approached PC OEMs to develop a unique line of laptops to meet consumers' specifications. Third, it bundled the laptops with extended warranties, antivirus protection, and/or Geek Squad service. Finally, it created its own category brand for these laptops ("You Spoke. We Listened.") that conveys relevance and simplifies the buying process, yet it relies upon the OEMs' own brands to convey quality and reliability. With this retailer-led product strategy, Best Buy uses its unique relationship with customers to create product differentiation while also delivering on its overall goal of delivering tech solutions to its customers. Consumer product strategy professionals at retailers can similarly create a retailer-led product strategy to leverage their customer knowledge for product differentiation.