Amazon and Best Buy have announced a partnership that will combine the companies’ efforts, integrating Amazon technology and reach and Best Buy’s foot traffic to expand business for both. David Pierce reports on the combination at The Wall Street Journal:
The two companies say they have been partners for years, and Amazon products such as Kindle e-readers have long been sold in Best Buy stores. But the new partnership brings potential benefits for both companies as sales of so-called smart TVs continue to climb.
It provides Best Buy with access to Amazon’s online customers for the first time, while broadening Amazon’s potential audience for products that feature its Alexa voice assistant. Amazon, which has been expanding its physical footprint through its own stores, has deepened its reach into consumers’ homes in recent years, starting with Kindles and more recently with its line of Echo home speakers, which star Alexa.
“What’s new in this partnership is the depths of the physical integration between the software and the hardware,” Mr. Joly said. “The two companies are retailers but they’re also product companies.”
The companies declined to comment on whether Best Buy would pay a standard commission as an Amazon merchant, or whether they negotiated a different deal. They didn’t disclose prices for the TV sets, which will be branded as Fire TV Edition.
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