Best Buy to sell search ads under its own in-house media company

Why we care

E-commerce’s explosive growth over the last two years has been accompanied by growth in digital commerce advertising as well. Best Buy Ads offers a marketplace that brands can use to get their offerings in front of customers, providing them with another Google alternative (even though it’s an alternative with a much smaller, more focused audience) as well as a new channel with which to engage customers during the discovery stage.

“We interact with our customers three billion times a year — in our stores, in their homes, and online,” the company touted in the announcement. Those interactions can provide meaningful data to target customers for brands that sell products at Best Buy or simply offer complementary products.

More on the news

• In addition to search ads, Best Buy Ads also offers onsite and offsite display ads, onsite and offsite video ads, social ads and in-store ads.
• While the company is opening up a new line of business, it’s not the first major retailer to launch such an offering: Lowe’s announced its One Roof Media Network in October 2021.