Samsung launches mini shops at Best Buy stores across U.S.

Samsung announced this week it’ll be launching more than 1,000 small retail shops inside Best Buy stores across the U.S. starting this month.

In a move that’s no doubt intended to help Samsung compete with rival Apple and its retail stores, the South Korean tech giant said it will have shops in as many as 900 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile specialty stores by May and will open even more stores in the early part of summer.

At the stores, which will be called Samsung Experience Shops, the company will feature its smartphones, tablets, laptops and other products. This will allow Samsung to let users try out its products first-hand before buying.

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Some Samsung Experience Shops will also include a section called Samsung Smart Service, staffed by technical support specialists called Samsung Experience Consultants. If that sounds familiar it’s because Apple does the same thing at its stores with its Genius Bars and Geniuses.

“Consumers will have one place to not only explore and learn about our full portfolio of mobile products, but also the support of a Samsung expert to help with selecting and servicing them,” Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America, said in a statement.

Samsung said the size of the stores will vary, with the largest being about 460 square feet.

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