Best Buy’s online marketplace is beginning to emerge as a meaningful contributor to profit, giving the electronics retailer a new source of revenue even as sales in its core business remain uneven.

The Minneapolis-based retailer said its U.S. marketplace generated about $300 million in gross merchandise value (GMV) during its fiscal Q4 2026. It now includes more than 1,100 third-party sellers, according to executives speaking on the company’s earnings call.

The online marketplace, which Best Buy launched and expanded during fiscal 2026, allows outside merchants to sell products on BestBuy.com while the retailer collects commissions and advertising revenue. The model expands product selection without requiring Best Buy to carry all the inventory itself.

CEO Corie Barry said the company has moved quickly to build scale in the marketplace.

“We successfully launched and scaled our U.S. digital marketplace, onboarding more vendors than originally expected and drastically increasing our available SKU count for our customers,” Barry said during the call.

Best Buy’s store network is also supporting the marketplace business. More than 80% of marketplace product returns are brought back to stores, giving customers a familiar service option and allowing Best Buy to integrate third-party sales into its broader omnichannel operations.

Best Buy is No. 8 in the Top 2000. The Top 2000 database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers.

And the Best Buy online marketplace is No. 46 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database. That database ranks the largest such marketplaces by third-party GMV.

Best Buy online marketplace growth in 2026

Marketplace growth has also broadened Best Buy’s assortment in categories where the retailer historically had less share. The most active product categories in Q4 included mobile phone accessories, computer accessories, movies and small kitchen appliances, executives said.

Early results suggest the platform is gaining traction among sellers. Best Buy said more than 90% of marketplace sellers with active storefronts are generating sales in any given week.

Executives also said the company designed the online marketplace to maintain the same service standards customers expect from Best Buy’s first-party retail operations.

“Our five-star ratings for third-party purchase experiences are consistent with that of first-party purchases,” said Jason Bonfig, chief customer, product and fulfillment officer. “Customer return rates for marketplace items continue to be lower than our 1P return rates.”

Financially, the online marketplace is beginning to show up in Best Buy’s profit margins. Chief financial officer Matt Bilunas said growth in marketplace commissions, along with expansion in Best Buy Ads, helped support profitability in the quarter.

“Our gross profit rate benefited from increased collections from Best Buy Ads and growth in marketplace commissions,” Bilunas said.

Best Buy reported fiscal Q4 2026 revenue of $13.8 billion, down 1% from a year earlier, while comparable sales declined 0.8%.

Still, Best Buy said the marketplace business remains in an investment phase.

“Fiscal 2027 will be the last major investment year, with more material operating income rate contribution coming in fiscal 2028 and fiscal 2029,” Bilunas said.

For Best Buy, the online marketplace strategy represents a broader shift toward platform-style revenue streams that rely less on selling inventory directly. As consumer demand for big-ticket electronics remains uneven, the retailer is betting that marketplace commissions and advertising revenue can help stabilize profits while expanding its online assortment.

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