Amazon Is Coming to a Best Buy Near You

As the old saying goes, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Although they have long been battling each other in the arena of consumer electronics, Best Buy has decided to join forces with Amazon. Beginning in summer of 2018, Best Buy will be the only place you can get Amazon’s new Alexa-enabled smart TVs.

It’s All About Alexa

Available in their brick-and-mortar stores, on the bestbuy.com website, and through the new Best Buy seller’s portal on Amazon, the 10+ new smart TV models feature the Fire TV operating system. Fire TV allows users to operate their device with the same voice commands as the Amazon Echo and other Alexa-enabled products such as the Fire Stick.

The Fire TVs will be manufactured by Toshiba and Best Buy’s own Insignia brand. Although prices have not yet been released, the TVs promise to be an upgrade over the previous Amazon offerings sold at Walmart, Target, and other big box stores.

This news comes as a blow to smart TV competitor Roku, whose televisions will no longer be manufactured by Insignia as part of the new partnership. Roku stocks tumbled nearly 10 percent when the deal was announced. Best Buy plans to continue offering Roku devices in store, but it’s clear that they are betting big on Amazon.

Mutually Beneficial

By bringing more customers into their retail locations, Best Buy hopes to see increased sales across the board. Amazon, meanwhile, can introduce potential buyers to its HD and 4K TV models in a brick-and-mortar showroom. This may be a risky move for Best Buy, which has struggled to establish its own online retail presence to compete with the Amazon juggernaut, but for now, the former rivals are committed to their new partnership.