For your next car purchase, you may not have to go to a dealership.
Instead, just take a stroll to your local Best Buy store. The #1 electronics retailer is reportedly considering the feasibility of offering electric vehicles for sale.
The store chain has already begun talking with smaller automakers about the idea. “We are having conversations with some of the start-ups. I would say the conversations are going well. We are very excited about several partnerships that we can’t talk about yet,” said Best Buy’s Chad Bell in a Cnet story.
It would be a reasonable progression for the company, which over the last few years has started selling electric motorcycles and home charging stations for electric cars.
“We probably get more traffic in a weekend than some of these dealers do in a month,” added Bell.
The automotive industry remains one of those markets where consumers don’t really “window shop.” Because of the nature of car dealerships, most can’t stomach the idea of just browsing, knowing that all the sales people there will be knocking you down hoping for a sale.
But by placing electric cars at Best Buy stores, consumers will be able to explore the product in a more comfortable, non-threatening environment, and it will allow them to be better educated about the market.
Bell also said there have been very preliminary discussions with traditional car companies as well, like Ford and Mitsubishi.
