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 46.3 billion U.S. dollars in the company's 2023 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 operated 1,144 stores worldwide in 2022, although the number of physical stores operated by the company has declined by around 600 compared to 2012.
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 about one third of the company's sales. The remaining revenue is made up of the appliances, entertainment, and services segments. 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.Strong competition in e-commerce space
The company's share of the e-commerce market is relatively low, at just between one and two percent in the U.S.. The U.S. e-commerce market is dominated by Amazon, with the company occupying almost 40 percent of the share. Other competitors such as Walmart, eBay, and Apple also have a larger share of the U.S. e-commerce market 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.
