Eyes in the Aisles: Best Buy

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy was in the process of enhancing its store experience by adding more digital and interactive displays as well as a slew of new products in categories including fitness equipment, baby technology and digital healthcare. Stores positioned as testing grounds for new tech offer countless invitations to touch and test products, which is partly the reason Best Buy had to completely shut down its in-store operation and shift to a purely curbside pickup model at the onset of the crisis. After figuring out how to safely allow shoppers back into its stores, the retailer once again opened its doors on June 22, bringing back about half of the 51,000 employees it had initially furloughed.Yet the Best Buy store experience today is not what it once was or had intended to be, and e-commerce shopping remains the retailer’s main sales driver in the era of COVID-19. Online sales rose 255% in the second quarter for fiscal 2021 (ended July 18) compared to the year prior, largely attributed to purchases of computers, tablets and appliances, and remained 185% higher than the same period a year prior after stores began reopening. Overall sales increased 2.5% from the same period the year prior and were up 15% since stores reopened compared to the year prior.The Path to Purchase Institute visited a handful of stores in Illinois, California, Florida and Texas in July and August to get a grasp on what store conditions look like since reopening and how Best Buy's in-store strategy has evolved, or stayed the same. While store layouts vary by location, below are a few things that stood out.First, immediately visible are designated spots dedicated to the one-hour contactless curbside pickup service the retailer quickly rolled out chainwide at the beginning of the crisis when only employees were allowed inside stores. A-boards and other outdoor signs direct shoppers to the drive-up spot and dedicated parking spaces. Some stores have additionally erected a tent right in front of entrances to accommodate the service, available from 10 a.m to 6 p.m.Immediately inside store doors, a greeter positioned behind a podium outfitted with an acrylic shield welcomes shoppers and offers to help them find what they need. Behind the greeter, most stores merchandise mobile phones and accessories via branded boutiques from providers including Verizon and AT&T. However, displays that typically encourage physical handling of product with out-of-the-box merchandising are left completely vacant at some locations, not stocking any devices. In other locations the stores-within-a-store appear as normal, including the retailer’s “genius bar”-type Apple showroom, Google and Amazon gondola displays as well as other digital endcaps and displays.Another display the Institute found bare is the gaming department, this time due to popular demand. Best Buy’s red, branded Nintendo aisle (or dedicated endcap display, depending on the store) complete with a screen and two Nintendo Switch devices that had allowed shoppers to play was virtually empty or extremely picked over at every location visited. A small touchscreen currently simply communicates the interactive display is “Not in Service.” As of Aug. 10, Nintendo Switch devices were still sold out at most stores and on bestbuy.com.Additionally, in-line displays and endcaps merchandising new games such as Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening both for Nintendo Switch as well as other gaming consoles and accessories from Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s Playstation are also picked over. The pandemic has also affected the way the retailer merchandises equipment including treadmills and ellipticals, a relatively new category for Best Buy that began rolling out online and to select stores last year. Some stores had created a type of showroom for assembled and operational equipment including large wall-like installments resembling living rooms or home interiors to help shoppers imagine themselves and the equipment in a home setting. The areas are now outfitted with yellow signs asking shoppers to see an associate for equipment demos at some locations, while others have completely removed the equipment and taped off the merchandising area with yellow "caution" tape. Home fitness equipment has also become a hot commodity during the pandemic as many gyms remain closed, and Best Buy is one of the many retailers still out of stock on weights and dumbbells both in stores and online.The TV and sound bar department brings some sense of normalcy to Best Buy, as it is one area of the store that shoppers can peruse without needing to touch anything, though there are some touchscreens that continue to invite shopper interaction. Custom and oftentimes illuminated displays from LG, Samsung, Sony and Vizio dominate the section. Each wall display, gondola and aisle display provides a slew of information on the products including how to connect them to voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa. Many TVs in the sections play ads touting Best Buy delivery, pickup and other services on a loop.Overall, Best Buy stores are in a relative state of limbo as the retailer grapples with what to do with all of its interactive displays and how to adjust the shopper-engaging strategy that was its key differentiator pre-pandemic, while also facing other COVID-19-related headwinds including inventory issues. The Institute did spot some contactless solutions in stores, including a tall rack sign inviting shoppers to scan different QR codes to download the Best Buy mobile app, see “Today’s Top Deals” and access My Best Buy offers, among other prompts. The Minnesota-based retailer continues offering its contactless curbside pickup service, scheduled in-store appointments, virtual consultations, free delivery and other digital shopping tools and resources introduced at the beginning of the pandemic.View more images from our recent Best Buy visits here.

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