Best Buy in Early Stages of Home Builder Smart Home Program

Best Buy launched a connected home pilot with home builders, CEO Corie Barry said on the company’s Tuesday Q3 earnings call. The retailer is collaborating with Whirlpool and one of the top U.S. home builders to provide smart home devices including connected doorbells and thermostats, plus large appliances, Barry said. The builder program is in an early phase; Best Buy is working in five of the roughly 45 markets included in the pilot. Early markets are providing “great insight” for how the companies might expand the pilot, she said. “Based on what we have learned, we see this model as an opportunity to partner with numerous other home builders to provide them similar or expanded solutions,” she said. Best Buy’s builder solutions website says the company provides dedicated account and project managers and “highly skilled installers,” who can support builder projects “from coast to coast.” Best Buy is partnering with real estate software platform companies RealPage, Hyphen, Entrata and Yardi, it said.