ThinkGeek GameStop

GameStop Is Axing ThinkGeek.com

If drastic stock price dropping were not a reason for concern, maybe continuous bad decisions by GameStop are?

Today, ThinkGeek announced that the popular gaming and collectible website would be shutting down. While it technically not going away, the products offered by the beloved website are moving to its parent company’s website. This announcement also states that many of the standalone locations will be closing. That being said, there will be standalone locations still operating as normal.

ThinkGeek updated its Customer Service policy to also include how they will be handling the remaining orders and products. With the shift, customers will now have to head to GameStop’s website to find the collectibles. Though this is a bit of a shocker, they were already available there to begin with.

IS THINKGEEK SHUTTING DOWN?

Nope. On July 2nd, 2019, ThinkGeek.com will be moving in with our parent company GameStop. After this move, you will be able to shop a curated selection of unique items historically found on ThinkGeek.com via a ThinkGeek section at GameStop

A lot can be said about this change, but overall it’s hard to understand why this is a good plan. In its most recent earnings call, GameStop announced that only two sectors reflected any increase in revenue. Controller sales had a slight increase at 0.6% but the big winner was collectibles which showed a gain of 10.5%. A lot of this is due to ThinkGeek and it’s reputation with customers, a reputation that GameStop doesn’t have a luxury of.

GameStop did announce they were implementing cost savings measures. That’s not all that GameStop has been experiencing in recent months. A[nother] new CEO has taken over and is looking to help reshape the business model as a whole. First, the company would like the re-shape the in-store experience with providing it as a “cultural experience.” The company would like to create more demos to help sway purchases but also provide more services to enhance the PowerUp program and more. Second, the company has expressed interest in expanding into the eSports market. The idea is to help drive foot traffic to in-store locations. Lastly, where does this leave ThinkGeek?

ThinkGeek GameStopOver the past few years, store locations have noticeably changed (in a good way). Stores have put less visual emphasis on used products and more emphasis on collectible and gamer-culture wear. Part of this may be due to the bad reputation GameStop has when it comes to buying and selling used products, literally a living meme. This also may have a bit to do with the rise in digital purchases by customers rather than physical. The new media threatens the store enough to the point that GameStop has even refused to sell the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition.

It is hard to imagine that GameStop will not find a way to implement the changes. Though will this be enough to win back customers?

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