Turnaround · United States · 2012–2019
Best Buy: beating ‘showrooming’ with Renew Blue
Expected to die as shoppers browsed in-store and bought on Amazon, Best Buy matched online prices, turned its stores into brand showrooms paid for by suppliers, and recovered strongly.
By Shivam Bhandari · Reviewed 31 October 2026 · How we write
by the numbers
- Share price low (late 2012)
- about $11
- Joly CEO
- 2012–2019
- Price matching
- permanent, from 2013
What happened
By 2012 Best Buy was widely seen as the next big retail casualty. Shoppers came to stores to see products, then bought them cheaper online — ‘showrooming’. Sales and profits were falling, and the founder was trying to take the company private.
New CEO Hubert Joly launched ‘Renew Blue’. Best Buy matched online prices from major competitors, removing the main reason to buy elsewhere. It turned store space into ‘stores within a store’ for Samsung, Microsoft, and others, who paid to showcase their products. It used stores as mini-warehouses to ship online orders faster, and expanded in-home advisers and Geek Squad services.
The share price, around $11 in late 2012, rose several-fold over the following years, and Best Buy became a case study in how physical retailers can compete with e-commerce.
Timeline
- 2012
Joly appointed; Renew Blue launched.
- 2013
Permanent online price matching; Samsung stores-within-a-store.
- 2017
‘Best Buy 2020’ growth strategy.
what made it work
- Removed the price gap that drove customers online.
- Made suppliers pay for the showroom value of stores.
- Used stores for fast online fulfilment.
- Invested in service and advice online players can't match.
the lesson
Physical stores can win against online rivals if they neutralise price and sell what websites can't — advice, service, and immediacy.
Apply it to your business
- 1Neutralise the one factor driving customers to competitors.
- 2Can your suppliers pay for your shelf or showroom space?
- 3Use what you have (stores, staff) as an advantage, not a cost.
Laws at work in this story
Figures are rounded and drawn from public reports, company filings and widely cited coverage at the time. Check the company's latest filings before relying on any number.