On April 25, Best Buy and AARP announced a Geek Squad program aimed at older technology users (age 50+). The Geek Squad Tech Support & Guidance for AARP Members is $169.99 for a one-year subscription. In addition to providing the standard break/fix technology services for which Geek Squad is well-known, other features of the subscription include access to a personal shopper service with exclusive e-mail access, electronics recyling, set-up and training of equipment, and discounts on other Geek Squad services.

Best Buy indicates that more than one-third of subscribers to the Geek Squad Tech Support service for computers and tablets are between the ages of 55 and 64. This fits very well with data that we obtained from our Q4 2011 survey Consumer Decision Process: Holiday Intentions.

We looked at the growth of tech support subscriptions as a significant catalyst to an increase of users and revenues for tech support services worldwide. Our recently-released report Refining Business Models for Tech Support covers the evolution of the services and business practices in the tech support industry. It includes worldwide forecasts for the growth of home computer and home network set-up and troubleshooting services and tech support subscriptions.