Best Buy (BBY) is looking to better compete with online retailers such as Amazon (AMZN) this holiday season and will reportedly begin to match prices of its Internet-based competitors. The struggling electronics chain is also said to offer free home delivery on items that are out of stock in stores,
according to The Wall Street Journal. The changes are part of the company’s efforts to decrease the growing percentage of people who browse Best Buy’s
stores and then buy from online competitors, a practice known as
“showrooming.” Best Buy estimates that the percentage of customers
who showroom has increased about three percentage points in the last two
years and now sits in the mid teens. The company believes that one in
five showrooming shoppers makes a purchase in the store, however, and
that number is expected to increase following the introduction of online
price matching.