The doors are open (digitally speaking): Best Buy’s Marketplace is officially live! We’re introducing a fresh way to shop an even bigger selection of products from third-party sellers, alongside the tech you already love. Think: more products, more brands, same Best Buy experience.
We caught up with Frank Bedo, our chief marketplace and eCommerce officer, to answer a few questions and break down what this new shopping experience means for you.
What is Best Buy Marketplace, and how is it different from shopping on BestBuy.com today?
Best Buy Marketplace is an expansion of what you can shop at BestBuy.com. In addition to the products you know and love from Best Buy, you’ll now also see items sold by third-party sellers, all in one seamless experience on our site and app. Think of it like a collection of items that complement what we already offer.
So, this means more products and new categories?
Exactly. Marketplace is bringing more variety, more brands, and more discoveries to BestBuy.com than ever before. Customers can now shop more than twice as many products, including hundreds of new brands and expanded lineups from the biggest names in tech they already know and love. We’ve also introduced entirely new categories like seasonal items and licensed sporting goods, welcomed movies back into our lineup and expanded in categories like small kitchen appliances, cookware, furniture and others; more than doubling our total assortment and tripling it in some areas.
More importantly, marketplace lets us help customers complete their setups in ways we couldn’t before. Shopping for a smart fridge? Now you can get cookware or dinnerware in the same place. Redesigning your living room with a new TV? Marketplace now offers coffee tables, barstools, and sofas to help you create the perfect home theater vibe. Planning for game day? Buy the big-screen TV and soundbar from Best Buy, then round it out with a branded merch, barstools and even an air fryer to keep the wings coming.
Why did Best Buy choose to launch a Marketplace?
We’re always looking for new ways to serve our customers better. Launching Marketplace is a big part of that. By opening our platform to third-party sellers, we can offer a much wider range of products, from hard-to-find accessories to niche electronics and lifestyle brands.
And we can do it quickly. With more sellers on the site, we can introduce new products faster — as well as more colors, more styles, and more options — to keep up with new emerging trends. In the end, our customers can better complete their setup all in one place, from the big-name tech you expect from us to the complementary and unexpected items that make it all work together.
Will the Marketplace change the way I shop in stores?
Marketplace is going to enhance the shopping experience inside our stores, which is something we’re really excited about.
While marketplace items are available exclusively online and through our app, our Blue Shirts are ready to support your full shopping journey, even beyond what’s physically in the store. If you’re picking up a new laptop or appliance, they can help you explore accessories, furniture or other Marketplace items that complete your setup. They can help you build out a cart right there with you. It’s another way we’re making sure you get exactly what you need, whether it’s on the shelf or online.
And when it comes to convenience, returns are simple. For almost all marketplace items, you can return them to your local Best Buy store, just like you would with any other purchase.
Looking further ahead, our marketplace opens new and exciting opportunities for our stores. As trends and customer needs evolve, we can use marketplace to both create more immersive, relevant experiences in our stores and provide customers with more product options. If a marketplace item is really resonating with our customers, it could become the centerpiece of a new in-store experience. We’re always keeping watch to see how we can evolve to best support our customers, whether that is online, in-store or a mix of both.
What are you most excited about for the launch?
The sheer amount of discovery this opens for our customers. Marketplace is making BestBuy.com and our app feel more personalized, more dynamic and more fun to shop than ever before.
Customers are already coming to us for their tech. We’re in a great position to recommend thoughtful add-ons and product pairings that feel truly relevant. Whether that’s a smart speaker and the shelf to display it on, or a new phone and the coolest new accessories to go with it, the experience is designed to be inspiring and useful all at once.
Now that Best Buy Marketplace is live, what’s one thing you think shoppers would be surprised to find on BestBuy.com or the Best Buy App now?
As I’ve mentioned, we’ve gone well beyond tech into the kind of stuff that’ll have you saying, “Wait, Best Buy has that?” Think sewing machines for DIY projects, spooky animatronics for your over-the-top Halloween display, a SpongeBob bounce house for the backyard, a 4,000-piece jigsaw puzzle for a quiet night in, even garden beds for springtime. I love those unexpected, fun finds, and they’re a great example of how marketplace is helping us bring more joy and more surprises.