Best Buy Adds More Affordable Paid Tier to Membership Offerings

Best Buy has modified its membership programs and added a more affordable paid tier.

The electronics retailer now offers three tiers based on what it has learned from customers who used its previous two tiers, including its first paid membership that was launched in 2021, Best Buy said in a Thursday (May 11) press release.

“We’ve learned a tremendous amount from our members over the last couple years, especially that different customers value very different benefits when it comes to their technology,” Best Buy Senior Vice President of Memberships Patrick McGinnis said in the release. “Creating these new membership options allows us to be there for all of our customers in the ways that are most important to them.”

As PYMNTS reported in March, retailers have found “value add” memberships to be essential to keep consumers spending at a time when inflation is a pressure point and many are pulling back on discretionary spending.

With the right mix of rewards and exclusivity in place, the astute retailer can turn discretionary spending into non-discretionary spending.

In addition, recurring purchases require an ever-evolving effort to maintain relevance to customers, PYMNTS research has found.

Strategies such as flexible billing, recovery of failed payments and aggregation of curated content can set the stage for the seamless transactions and experiences that keep subscribers engaged, according to the “Subscription Commerce Tracker®,” a PYMNTS and Vindicia collaboration.

Best Buy’s new lineup of memberships includes the existing free tier; a new, more affordable paid tier that is priced at $49.99 per year; and an updated version of its existing paid tier that costs $179.99 per year, according to the press release.

The existing paid tier will transition to the new top tier, and the more affordable paid tier will become available June 27, the release said.

Best Buy has found that members of the paid tier engage with the company more frequently, purchase more of their tech there, and report higher satisfaction rates than non-members, per the release.

“Also, members have taken advantage of benefits in noticeably different ways; for example, some of our members use member pricing and product protection more often, while other members more frequently leverage tech support services,” Best Buy said in the release. “And all members cite free shipping as one of the most valuable benefits.”

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