Internet retailer Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is following Best Buy Inc.'s (NYSE: BBY) lead and is now supplying $50 gift certificates to those customers who purchased a now-obsolete HD DVD player on the e-tailer's website prior to February 23. Customers who bought an HD DVD player before that date have until April 9, 2009 to contact Amazon.com and claim their $50 credits (limit of 10).It's good that Amazon.com is finally doing this -- but why did it take so long? The pioneering e-tailer didn't lead the charge on this one, and left that task to brick-and-mortar retailer Best Buy. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) followed shortly behind and then a month later, Amazon.com joins the fray? Generally, Amazon.com is the leading trendsetter -- but not this time.
So, Amazon.com is giving previous HD DVD unit customers a $50 credit on anything else available for sale while pitching some great offers on the format winner Blu-ray format (always have to work an upsell in there). It would be great if every retailer who sold HD DVD players would follow along Best Buy's lead and provide $50 credits to customers as a future business retention tool, but that probably won't happen. The lack of that action, though, shows just who is in tune with customers and who could care less.
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