By Josh Ong
Published: 03:05 AM EST (12:05 AM PST)
Internal estimates at Best Buy suggest the iPad has cut into notebook sales by as much as 50 percent.
The news came as part of a change to Best Buy's
retail strategy, according to the
Wall Street Journal. Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn announced Tuesday that the iPad will be coming
this fall to all 1,093 Best Buy retail stores.
The Richfield, Minn., company reported a 61 percent jump in profit Tuesday, as sales shifted away from big-screen televisions and PCs toward hand-held gadgets and consumer devices. In addition to several accounting changes, increased sales of smartphones and portable computers, especially the iPad, contributed to the surprise profit.
"People are willing to disproportionately spend for these devices because they are becoming so important to their lives," said Dunn.
Earlier this week, Dunn announced he views the iPad as a "magnificent shining light" in the new category of tablets. Dunn estimated that the iPad "had cannibalized sales from laptop PCs by as much as 50%," according to the
Journal's report.
This holiday season, Best Buy hopes to capitalize even more on this shift in consumer spending by heavily promoting Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle in its stores.
However, Best Buy likely won't be the only major retailer with the iPad this holiday season.
Target is rumored to be getting the iPad as early as Oct. 3. In April, a Walmart VP told
BusinessWeek that the company expects to carry the iPad by the
end of the year.
