Online Marketplaces: Future Bets

4. Best Buy
The launch of the Best Buy marketplace in 2011 was a strategic response by the consumer electronics retailer to the steady decline of in-store traffic that big-box stores are seeing across the board as more shoppers move online. The relatively new marketplace allows third-party retailers to sell name-brand products traditionally sold at Best Buy stores while handling all product fulfillment themselves. Best Buy has invested in efforts to grow its online presence, developing its own technology to power the marketplace. In addition, it offers spotlight opportunities for products (e.g., Best Buy Deals of the Day), as well as a "Reward Zone" loyalty program to sweeten the deal for online shoppers.