Best Buy is turning its in-house advertising unit into a business designed to help consumer goods makers, even outside its current electronics partners, find customers.
Best Buy Ads will help other companies take advantage of customer insights the retailer gets from its national reach, Best Buy said Tuesday. It will also help turn Best Buy's stores, websites and apps into advertising platforms for other businesses.
"With Best Buy Ads, we're able to tap into the unique relationships only Best Buy has with its customers," the business' president, Keith Bryan, said in a statement.
Through Best Buy Ads, makers of consumer products can buy sponsored products and display ads on BestBuy.com and in-store video ads using store televisions and computer screens.
Best Buy will also provide services for reaching customers in external channels outside the electronics company, such as through search ads on popular online search engines, offsite video ads and ads on social media.
"Technology is all around us—it's in our cars, our kitchens, and more than ever, how our families are working and learning at home," Bryan said. "With Best Buy Ads, brands can be right there alongside our customers as they adapt and go about their lives."
Best Buy Ads will take the place of what was formerly called the Best Buy Media Network.
Best Buy — like other large companies such as Target — has operated an in-house creative advertising team for years. In 2018, its internal marketing team led a brand refresh that included a new logo, which hadn't been changed in nearly 30 years.
In its announcement, Best Buy said the expanded services will provide another revenue stream for the company, though it didn't set an expectation for its size or amount.
In its latest fiscal quarter ended Oct. 30, Best Buy's overall revenue rose about a half-percent to $11.9 billion. Comparable sales increased about 2%.
