Best Buy last week launched a test of fitness equipment departments in 40 of its 1,040 stores. Stores in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas began selling pedometers, special MP3 players, yoga mats, scales and blood pressure monitors, as well as treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical machines, in dedicated health and fitness areas.


The sections include more than 30 feet of technology devices organized by activities such as running, walking, swimming, and yoga. The chain's Geek Squad tech support staff are available to connect monitoring gear to home PCs or mobile devices as well as to provide in-home equipment assembly. The section will also allow consumers to try equipment in store, including treadmills.


“We're constantly looking for the most innovative solutions to address our customer's lifestyle needs,” said Steve Trier, senior director of customer research & development at Best Buy, in a statement.
Best Buy spokesman Justin Barber told Sports Executive Weekly that the rollout to 40 stores follows an earlier test in an Atlanta store and a few others of some elements. He noted that the retailer had been “dabbling in the fitness space for a while” and many of those items – including heart rate monitors, pedometers, GPS watches and MP3 accessories for active pursuits – had been selling well. “So we decided to create this one fitness centered area for all those items so people can understand all the different options they have to increase their fitness,” said Barber.


But the testing of fitness departments also comes as people are increasingly downloading workout data to the home computers and mobile devices that are core categories for the chain. Barber also noted that some of the most abandoned searches on Best Buy's website were in fitness items the chain didn't carry.


Among the merchandise offerings are elliptical machines, stationary bikes and treadmills from Lifespan, ProForm and Reebok; a variety of monitoring watches from Timex, Polar, Garmin, and Sportline; headphones from Sennheise; as well as conditioning items for swimmers, yoga and  Pilates enthusiasts from FINIS, GoFit, and Gaiam. MP3 accessories designed specifically for workouts are also available in the sections as well as other products for monitoring health, such as scales, blood pressure monitors and books.


Barber said the fitness move follows the chain's move into e-readers, and gadgets such as Rubik's TouchCube, musical instruments and DJ equipment, as the chain continues to respond to customers' requests.
Barber said Best Buy currently has no plans to expand the fitness sections to more locations.


“We're trying different layouts and presentations to see what resonates with consumers,” said Barber. “So far we've been getting really favorable responses from consumers at the limited stores they've been in and our employees tend to be pretty excited about it. There's a few associates in each store that are really passionate about fitness and excited about what we can bring to the table in this. So we'll continue to evolve it and only time will tell.”