For a long time, the continued viability of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) remained uncertain largely because of the growth of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Customers were using a practice called "showrooming" where they would visit the brick-and-mortar chain, get a look at the items they hoped to buy, take advantage of Best Buy's customer-service personnel, and then make their actual purchases online.Effectively, Best Buy was carrying the expense of having stores, paying staff, and stocking merchandise, but Amazon was getting the actual sales.