Best Buy: Customers say they "absolutely" want pre-owned sales

Best Buy's head of entertainment Marc Spence has said that pre-owned game sales will be an important part of the retailer's proposition from day one in the UK because it's what customers have asked for.

"The customers told us that they wanted to see second-hand games and, generally speaking, there's a cycle of buying a game then trading it in against the price of a new one. We did customer research and the customers said, 'absolutely, we want second-hand'," said Spence.

Speaking ahead of the flagship UK store's opening in Thurrock, Essex, Spence added that while pre-owned was a relatively new prospect for its US stores, it had decided it had to be offered from day one in the UK.

He also revealed that customers trading in games would be able to offset the proceeds against anything in the store and not just gaming product, and that publishers had been largely supportive of this move.

"Yes, we read a lot about what publishers do and don't think about pre-owned games. I think the majority of those we've worked with so far have been very supportive. They understand the need to have pre-owned. I think we've got a very strong relationship with the vendor community," he said.

Spence admitted that the new Thurrock store had plenty of competition - "We've got the majority of competitors in the park" - but said that its differentiator was the store's dedicated demo areas.

Alongside a designated TV set-up for each console, the store also boasts its own demo room, designed by Pinewood Studios, where staff would be able to sell a whole "solution", said Spence, from a console and accessories to a Virgin broadband package.

It would also work as an area where customers can try out adult rated games off of the shop floor, he added.

"Gaming for Best Buy is not an add-on. It's an integral part of the Best Buy business, so it's not just on the peripheral," he said.

"We do see ourselves as a specialist in that sense. So yes, we do believe we can go head-to-head with the best in this market space. As you can see, we've given the space to it, we've got the range, we will be competitive on price, we have pre-owned and we've got pre-owned that can be offset against anything else in the store, not just on gaming.

"We have got dedicated Blue Shirts working on entertainment, you will find people at all times within entertainment. It's not going to be self-service - there will be people there to help you."

Spence also said that GAME's recently announced plans to close over 100 of its UK stores, in addition to other closures confirmed earlier this year, wasn't a concern for Best Buy as the UK games market was still strong.

"I think this is still a very very good market. The UK gaming market is still very strong and yes it might have had a difficult time over the last 12 months. I think with Move and Natal coming later this year, we've just had Splinter Cell and we've got some great products coming that I think will really change the face of gaming this autumn.

"And we're very keen to show what we can do. We think for a demonstration purpose the customers will come to us to see the products."

The full interview with Marc Spence can be read here.