Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY)'s early bet on RGB TV is starting to pay off, Jefferies says, pointing to rising site traffic and social media buzz as signs the retailer is building consumer awareness of the emerging technology.
Jefferies analysts flagged that Best Buy holds exclusive rights to sell RGB TVs during the technology's first 12 months on the market, a head start that's translating into real search and traffic advantages.
RGB TV, also called Micro RGB, is a new TV backlight technology, pioneered by Samsung, that uses thousands of tiny individually controlled red, green, and blue LEDs behind the screen instead of the blue LED-with-phosphor or Mini LED setups used in conventional TVs.
In June, BestBuy.com captured visits from one in four consumers searching "RGB TV," up from 19% in May and 4% in April, making it the top retail destination for shoppers researching the technology, well ahead of the next-closest retail site at just 1%.
Digital creators are helping fuel that awareness: tech influencer Andrew Bond's July 13 video from a Best Buy store praising Samsung's Micro RGB TV drew about 2 million views in 24 hours, while lifestyle creators Brooke Mason and @lifewithcina posted similar videos name-checking Best Buy that pulled in tens of thousands of views apiece.
Jefferies estimates Best Buy holds roughly 33% market share in the TV category, a position the firm views favorably given the timing. The analysts note that US TV sell-through has been growing at a solid pace in recent weeks, and they see a major replacement cycle building as televisions purchased during the pandemic approach the end of their useful life.
Looking at the broader picture, Jefferies estimates about 13 million US TVs sold between 2020 and 2021 were the result of pandemic-driven pull-forward demand. With an average useful life of about six and a half years, the firm believes a first, smaller wave of replacement purchases has already begun, with the bulk of that replacement cycle still ahead in 2027 and 2028.