The cheaper drive-less PS5 and Xbox Series S are the more popular models.

And people who “have the option” clearly are not buying disks like they used to. If that floor space was a cash cow, they’d keep it around. Best Buy isn’t a charity. Floor space needs to be driving sale somehow.

In the case of Chromebooks, they could be the entry level price point that inevitably upsells someone to a more capable Microsoft or Apple machine. Or hell, for all I know, that table could be a negotiated requirement from Google. Want to sell Pixel, Nest, Eero, and Chromecast product? Then you need to give us that 8x5 oak table for these shitty laptops.

Edit: also, Google could also be straight up leasing that floor space.