Federica Laricchia
Research expert covering the global consumer technology industry
Best Buy - statistics & facts
Whether you need a new smartphone, TV, or household appliance, Best Buy is the place where you can find it. Founded by Richard M. Schulze and Gary Smoliak as an audio specialty store in 1966, Best Buy has become one of the biggest consumer electronics retailers in the world. The multinational retailer sells both products and services through three primary channels: retail stores, online, and call centers. Best Buy generated global revenues of roughly 43.5 billion U.S. dollars in the company's 2024 fiscal year, with over 90 percent of the company's revenue generated in the United States. With the withdrawals of its brand in regions such as the UK and China, the electronics and appliance retailer is very much reliant on its domestic U.S. market. In total, Best Buy stores worldwide amounted to over 1,000 stores in 2023, although the number of physical stores operated by the company has declined by around 600 compared to 2012.
As consumers will keep buying all products available at Best Buy, the company can be expected to continue playing a major role in the U.S. retail market and given the growing popularity of the e-commerce industry, seek to improve upon their presence online, acquiring larger shares of the market.
Computing and mobile devices are Best Buy's largest segments
Sales of computing equipment and mobile phones make up the majority of Best Buy's revenue, while consumer electronics account for over 40 percent of the company's sales. The remaining revenue is made up of various segments, including consumer electronics, entertainment, and services. As one of the leading consumer electronics retailers in the U.S., Best Buy still generates the majority of its revenue from brick-and-mortar store sales, although the company also has a presence in the e-commerce market.Best Buy faces stiff competition in e-commerce space
With regards to the e-commerce sphere, the company held a small share of the retail e-commerce market, at just about 1.5 percent in 2023. On the contrary, it is Amazon that dominates the U.S. e-commerce industry, occupying almost 40 percent of the market. Other competitors, such as Walmart, Apple, and eBay, account for lower shares of the market than Amazon but still larger than Best Buy. Since Circuit City, the only direct competitor of Best Buy and the second-largest electronics retailer in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy, Best Buy is now competing primarily with retailers such as Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Home Depot.As consumers will keep buying all products available at Best Buy, the company can be expected to continue playing a major role in the U.S. retail market and given the growing popularity of the e-commerce industry, seek to improve upon their presence online, acquiring larger shares of the market.
