Related: Who’s Spending What Where: November 30, 2015
Steadily ramping up for the holidays, consumer electronics retailers have spent $42.1 million on TV advertising from Sept. 1 through Nov. 23. Best Buy, which operates more than 1,000 stores across all 50 states, far outspent its competition, with an estimated outlay of $29.7 million on TV ads during that
time period.
Since the demise of Circuit City and the dramatic decline of Radio Shack, Best Buy’s competition these days come from some of the bigger regional chains, such as H. H. Gregg (styled as hhgregg), the Indianapolis-based retailer with stores in 20 states, and Fry’s, a Silicon Valley favorite with stores in nine states. H. H. Gregg ranks second and Fry’s a distant fifth in our chart.
For many consumers, “consumer electronics” means, basically, gaming. The two biggest players in that sector are GameStop, which has brick-and-mortar stores across all 50 states, and GameFly, an online retailer that also sells games but is more focused on its Netflix-like game-rental business. GameStop and GameFly spent an estimated $4.4 million and $3.2 million, respectively, on TV advertising from Sept. 1 through Nov. 23. Keep in mind that both of these gaming giants benefit massively from nonstop advertising by game publishers for their latest releases, especially during the holiday shopping season.
