Best Buy Co. Inc.'s physical stores are expected to play a "massive role" in the company's fulfillment efforts even as digital sales jumped during the pandemic, CEO Corie Barry said during a Jan. 12 keynote session at CES, the Consumer Technology Association's annual technology and media trade show.
Barry said that although Best Buy's online sales ramped up in 2020, "40% of those sales were still being picked up either in our stores or curbside."
The role of the physical store is poised to become broader than ever, with the locations serving as "fulfillment epicenters" that quickly and easily get customers whatever they need, she said. "Do they want it same-day? Do they want it within an hour? Do they want to come in the store? Do they want to get it curbside? Are they OK waiting for us to ship it?" she said.
The Minnesota-based retailer's approximately 1,000 stores played a critical role in Best Buy's ability to retain and grow sales during the pandemic. In the first quarter, Best Buy pivoted to a contactless, curbside-only model and saw a surge in demand in categories including computing, gaming and small appliances.
In June, Best Buy was reopening stores to traffic and immediately saw business ramp up to "levels we had never seen before," she said. "Nobody knew there would be a run on web cams at the pace that we saw, and yet suddenly it became the hottest item that we had," Barry said.
Best Buy also saw customers gravitate to reopened stores for more complex sales. "They wanted to have that interaction, so when they came to the store, they had high expectations for what that interaction and consultation would look like," she said.
Stores will also play a vital role in tech support to keep customers' devices up and running, she said.
But Best Buy's digital efforts will be equally important, especially now that consumers have reached a comfort level with digital channels that they didn't have before the pandemic, Barry said.
When asked what 2022 will look like, Barry said she believes the company is "much further down the pipe" than she would have guessed on the adoption of digital experiences.
"For many retailers, we tend to start with humans; we're just so geared to start with humans," Barry said. "And instead this digital-first mentality is embedded in all the decisions we are making now, and by 2022, I believe it's exactly how every consumer will for sure start their journey on what they are trying to get done in their homes."
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