For years, Best Buy has dominated the electronics landscape in the retail world. However, Best Buy has been struggling recently and closing stores across the country. They’ve already shut down several locations and plan to continue closing more through 2025. This year alone, they’re expected to close over 25 stores. (If you’re looking for cool electronics, don’t head back to school without this genius smartpen.)
As you might expect, Best Buy’s significant decline and downfall have led consumers into the arms of competitors. To identify which ten competitors offer the best consumer electronics sales, 24/7 Wall St. scoured forum sites like Reddit, checked out ratings on PCMag and WIRED, and considered our own personal shopping experiences. Our list includes ten fantastic retailers who offer a wide range of electronic items. We rated them in the order of competitiveness according to our data, though ranking is admittedly subjective.
Why We’re Sharing the Secret of Where to Buy Electronics
Sticking to Best Buy for all of your electronics needs is like eating at the same restaurant every day when there’s a whole host of flavors to explore in your area. Eventually, you’ll get tired of it and wish you wandered out earlier. Competition has forced other stores to think outside of the box when it comes to electronics sales. Gone are the days of bare-bones service or a cold, clinical environment in your local store. Best Buy’s competitors now focus on more intimate spaces, better (yes, lower!) prices, and even community-building. So the next time you’re looking to buy that perfect TV for your living room, or you’re getting ready to get upgrade your phone, consider stepping away from Best Buy and trying one of these retailers instead.
These are the ten places you should buy electronics that aren’t Best Buy:
10. Home Depot
- Locations: 2,300
- Known for: The world’s largest home improvement retailers
- Best things to buy: Large appliances, smart home products, security systems
The Home Improvement Store
Many people consider Best Buy as a shopping destination for computers and television, but a solid portion of its retail footprint actually rests in big appliances. Home Depot directly competes with Best Buy in this space by offering even better prices on refrigerators, dishwashers, and washers and dryers. The retail giant also offers frequent discounts on home security products like cameras and video doorbells. Generally speaking, Home Depot has a more knowledgeable staff when you want to know about big appliances and electronics, and can help you find an exact fit for your space. Plus, if you’re looking to buy outside of the electronics sphere, Home Depot also offers a variety of other products — including plants!
9. GameStop
- Locations: 6,100
- Known for: Video games
- Best things to buy: Video game systems, video games, video game accessories
The Video Game Destination
While GameStop might be hyper-focused on video games, it’s still a better destination in this electronics category than Best Buy. Not only do you get a larger selection of titles for newer consoles, but you also get a catalog of games for older consoles. With retro games enjoying a renaissance right now, GameStop has seen its popularity skyrocket, something Best Buy has no interest in competing against.
8. Staples
- Locations: 994
- Known for: Office supplies, consumer electronics
- Best things to buy: Laptops, desktops, shredders, scanners, office electronic essentials
Office Supply Retailer
You won’t find a large video game or general electronics selection at Staples, but it definitely competes with Best Buy in the laptop and desktop space. Best Buy wants to focus heavily on gaming computers, but Staples is looking more at everyday family machines with lower prices. For this reason, it can truly keep up with Best Buy. This is even more true if you consider the breadth of Staples’ selection of printers, scanners, and other small electronics.
7. Office Depot
- Locations: 960
- Known for: Office supplies, office chairs, printers, computers, computer accessories
- Best things to buy: Anything related to office supplies, printer ink, electronics
A True Office Supply Depot
While Office Depot is rightfully thought of primarily for its office supplies specialty, the company entered the electronics space long ago. As with Best Buy, Office Depot offers a large selection of desktop computers, laptops, printers, and smart home devices. However, Office Depot excels in pairing its electronics with a large selection of items like an office desk and chair, something Best Buy mostly ignores in its stores. This means you can go to Office Depot and purchase the entire spectrum of your office setup, if you so choose.
6. NewEgg
- Locations: 0
- Known for: One-stop shop for computer hardware and consumer electronics
- Best things to buy: Computers, computer components, smart home electronics
A PC Dream
NewEgg is a great place to visit for those who love building their own computer and making their workspace feel very personal. While it sells many consumer electronics, including small appliances, NewEgg’s bread and butter is computers and related computer accessories and peripherals. If you have ever needed a new graphics card or motherboard online, there is a good chance you have already checked out NewEgg for pricing.
5. Micro Center
- Locations: 28
- Known for: Being founded by two former Radio Shack employees
- Best things to buy: Computers and electronics
Small But Mighty
Some readers may never have heard of Micro Center. This store only has 28 locations in 19 states, so shopping at Micro Center is an experience in and of itself. The company prides itself on having some of the most knowledgeable employees in the business. While many consider Best Buy employees knowledgeable, Micro Center’s staff are a step above. They can help you find or discover what you need regarding computers, computer accessories, gaming, and even computer components like graphics cards and processors.
4. Costco
- Locations: 890
- Known for: Outstanding prices for members
- Best things to buy: Bulk household items, jewelry, snacks, produce, electronics
Best With A Membership
So long as you are a member, Costco can be a great destination for electronics. As a member myself, I can promise you that stepping into this store will make you forget about Best Buy entirely. Founded in 1983, Costco is one of the largest retail stores in the world and competes with Best Buy directly on televisions, smartphones, home appliances, and computers. Members get some of the best electronics prices in a physical retail store.
3. Amazon
- Locations: 0
- Known for: Huge selection of electronics
- Best things to buy: Televisions, computers, smart home devices, security devices, tablets
One-Stop Shop
If any place in the world can compete with Best Buy as a one-stop shop, it’s Amazon. In fact, Amazon has become the world’s largest online retailer. While many people (including myself) may gripe about the increasing prices of Amazon Prime, there’s no way around the fact that Amazon has pretty much anything you could ever need. And with a Prime membership, you can order your items and have them in two days or less. With its line of popular electronic devices, Amazon is a fantastic place to find televisions, e-readers, smart speakers, tablets, video games, and more. Look around Black Friday for MAJOR deals.
2. Target
- Locations: 1,956
- Known for: High-quality merchandise, including electronics, clothing, toys, household goods
- Best things to buy: Televisions, cameras, smartphones
Lower-Cost Merchandise
Target competes directly with Best Buy in multiple areas and offers a slate of various consumer electronics. While its overall television and computer selection is smaller, Target offers better pricing, especially for smart home devices. Target has a dedicated electronics section where customers can browse, shop, and even try many items like headphones, speakers, and video games. If you have the Target RedCard, you automatically get 5% off all electronics, which is a big incentive to choose it over Best Buy.
1. Walmart
- Locations: 10,586
- Known for: Low-price electronics, groceries, clothing, everyday goods
- Best things to buy: Televisions, video games, general electronics
The World’s Largest Retailer
As the world’s largest company by revenue, Walmart is unsurprisingly at the top of our list as the top Best Buy competitor. Walmart generally offers better pricing, though with a smaller selection of electronics. You won’t find refrigerators or washing machines, but with computers, televisions, video games, and general electronics, you’ll be hard-pressed to beat Walmart’s pricing and regular deals.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks