Amazon Gets Into Home Tech Support, Best Buy Should Be Worried

If you are not a techie or know how to setup a gadget you buy on Amazon, the next time you order, someone from Amazon might come to your home and set it up for you. Yes that’s right Amazon has just launched their own Geek Squad-like home support service.

best buy geek squad

The in-home tech support service is already live in nine markets, which include Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Jose. The service includes free consultations on technologies like Alexa and how to use smart home devices. Amazon will also be offering installations at a very reasonable $99.

After the announcement by Amazon, shares of Best Buy took a drop of 5.5% and Best Buy shareholders have the right to be worried. Services, like the Geek Squad make up 9% of its entire business, this is compared to 6% last year. Geek Squad has proved to be scalable and operates in areas where Best Buy is not located like the UK. As competition from online retails increases companies like Best Buy are expected to rely more on services like Geek Squad.

Amazon’s move into in-home support basically removes of the competitive advantages of buying a product from Best Buy. Amazon also enters the market in a position of power. Its Prime service is already in 80 million US households, whereas Best Buy has just over 1000 retail stores and little international presence outside of Canada and Mexico.

Only time will tell how Amazon’s new service will effect Best Buy and the Geek Squad, but we all know Amazon is about customer service and we can expect a better experience than Geek Squad.

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