Best Buy has long been known as nearly one-stop shopping for everything that plugs into the home- from computers and TVs to refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. With the recent launch of their personal transport line, they’ve expanded their view on exactly that.
Current offerings in about 20 different stores launching over the next couple of weeks include Segways, e-scooters 
(both the stand and sit-upon sort) and about a half dozen different e-bikes- come July, the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle will also be garnished with a yellow tag. It’s a “vehicle” space that can certainly benefit from such promotion- long dismissed as limited utility, bikes and scooters are enjoying an upswing as the transport focus has been shifting toward a “right tool for the job” model. Still, many of them are made by companies unfamiliar to the general public- so a little back-up by a nationwide retailer (to say nothing of extended warranty availability) does a lot toward encouraging people to try something new. And parking lot test rides are kinda fun, too.
In this recent development, Best Buy deftly finds the intersection between their core competency as a technology enabler and more holistic, visionary thinking about how the home and transport interact- “what is” literally meeting “what’s coming”. It’s hard not to wonder what they might be imagining as a next step- and be excited about it. After spending some time in my local store watching guests react to the new display, I know I’m not the only one.
It is said that smart people bet on the inevitable. Seems clear to me where Best Buy stands…
evchels 
When I first read the press releases weeks ago that Best Buy was going to start offering electric transport devices in addition to all their other electronics, I was floored. It seems so obvious, but no other electronics store had yet made that move. I feel these simpler vehicles are well suited to Best Buy and their service capabilities, and will allow a far greater number of these products to reach customers than otherwise would have.
Electric (and soon fuel cell) vehicles are penetrating markets through multiple sales channels and rapidly encroaching on fossil fuel based transportation solutions.
It’s exciting to see a new model developing for selling personal transportation. Perhaps with the right financial incentives (e.g., true cost gas pricing, stronger subsidies for sustainable transportation) this approach could really take off. The vehicles remind me somewhat of the proposal from the MIT Media Lab (although the ownership model is completely different):
http://bit.ly/spmobility
My local Geek Squad in Melbourne FL seemed uninterested in the possibility of selling electric bikes and scooters and then stated the residents of this town are too old to want such things, so thought it likely that they never would sell them here.
We are testing personal transportation vehicles in about 20 stores as mentioned above. Based upon the test results, we will make a decision on how to extend the test to more stores. Appreciate the feedback.
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