Best Buy woos big spenders with gifts

RICHFIELD, Minn., Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Best Buy Co. planned to offer giveaways and discounts on sought-after items to its best-spending customers, the U.S. and Canadian electronics retailer said.

Members of Best Buy's Reward Zone program were sent invitations this week to holiday shopping events taking place at 150 of the Richfield, Minn., retailer's stores Sunday.

The company expects 500 to 1,000 customers to attend each event. It has about 24 million Reward Zone members.

The first 100 customers at each store will get a free Dynex optical mouse, The Wall Street Journal reported. Stores will hold drawings for $50 Best Buy gift cards every 15 minutes and offer double reward points on purchases.

They will also offer popular items such as Nintendo Co.'s Wii video game console -- each store will get about 30, the Journal said -- plus discounts on high-end products. For instance, 46-inch Samsung high-definition televisions will be priced $700 less than normal at $1,999, the Journal said.

Other U.S. retailers have offered similar discounts.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. slashed toy prices several weeks ago, then started offering five surprise dirt-cheap "doorbusters" Friday mornings. Toys 'R' Us Inc. and KB Toys Inc. also cut prices on popular items.