The only way I can really see a big-box chain like Best Buy surviving alongside Amazon and the other online retailers is if they were to focus heavily on traini

The only way I can really see a big-box chain like Best Buy surviving alongside Amazon and the other online retailers is if they were to focus heavily on training their employees to be knowledgeable on all the products they are selling, similar to Apple's "Geniuses". I think the original problem stores like Best Buy were created to solve no longer exists - namely, a _physical_ one-stop shop for all your electronic needs. Amazon is clearly better for this. Where I see opportunity for Best Buy to differentiate is in customer experience. When the typical consumer decides they want to buy a new laptop, and don't want a mac, they basically have a couple of options. They can either research laptops on their own (through Amazon, Engadget, et al) or they can just drive to a Best Buy store and buy whatever the employee tells them. The thing is, the Best Buy option really isn't much better currently because their average employee isn't very knowledgeable on the laptops they carry. For this to work, Best Buy would have to both pay employees more and spend more time/money training them. Not to mention the costs associated with re-branding the company as a whole. However, IMHO I think something this drastic needs to be done for them to survive.