Best Buy’s New Membership Offers Unlimited Tech Support, New Product Access

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Best Buy is launching a new nationwide membership program, Totaltech, that offers unlimited technology support, along with access to products that could be hard to come by as the holiday shopping season kicks into full gear.

For the annual price of $199.99, members get unlimited, round-the-clock tech support, exclusive pricing, free shipping and other perks. The program was piloted at select locations six months ago.

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Additional membership benefits include access to products that are anticipated to be in short supply this holiday season due to supply chain snarls, the semiconductor chip shortage and skyrocketing freight costs.

The electronics retailer didn’t mention which hard-to-get products would be more accessible to members, but there are plans for a Members Monday event that kicks off Oct. 18 and runs through the holiday shopping season. The promotion will offer exclusive deals that only members can get.

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Best Buy originally trialed a Best Buy Beta membership at approximately 90 of its 900-plus U.S. stores, and made the move to make members of that program part of the new Totaltech program. Members of Best Buy’s Total Tech Support and Geek Squad Tech Support will also be added to the new membership program.

Piper Sandler analyst Peter Keith called the new program “a potential game-changer… We expect the new membership program to garner significant interest/sign-ups over the holiday season.”

His analysis also points to signs that the membership program will cause a 3% boost in sales and a 5% to 8% increase in earnings per share across the next 24 months.

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Best Buy announced plans in June that it was expanding its retail offerings to include outdoor living and travel, PYMNTS reported. The company also said it was continuing to advance its services for on-site assembly services.