Digital Engagement Tactics Pay Off in Enhanced Customer Experience at Best Buy

Talking about digital customer engagement to heighten the overall customer experience is one thing. Executing on a strategy geared toward this and achieving success is quite another.

Best Buy is well on its way to sustainable success in the latter.

During the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly talked about the Best Buy 2020 Building the New Blue plan.

“The first priority is to explore and pursue growth opportunities around maximizing the multichannel retail business and providing services and solutions that solve real customer needs and help us build deeper customer relationships,” he explained. “In support of maximizing the multichannel retail business, we continue to drive digital innovation to improve the customer experience. In the second quarter, our domestic online comparable sales grew 31 percent. Online sales were more than $1 billion for the second consecutive time in a non-holiday quarter and were 13.2 percent of domestic revenue, up from 10.6 percent last year. We are on pace to generate well over $5 billion in domestic online sales this fiscal year.”

A highly impressive achievement.

Jen Gray, SVP, Brand, Marketing & Creative Services, HelloWorld, told Loyalty360 that, while digital innovation can take many forms and strategies, “we’re seeing more and more brands place an emphasis on using digital tactics to enhance the customer experience. Using AI tools in store shows the innovative nature of Best Buy’s long-term strategy, putting the customer experience first and making product information immediately accessible and even fun. The opportunities to weave in frictionless touch points to drive more loyalty across both in-store and digital channels are endless, and we look forward to watching their strategy evolve.”

Joly believes that broad-based product innovation is resonating with consumers and driving higher spend.

“Another exciting opportunity to maximize the multichannel retail business is our In-Home Advisor program,” he explained. “Our in-home advisors are professional sales consultants with broad product knowledge. They provide free consultations and serve as a single point of contact covering all technology needs across all vendors. In other words, they can help you design including place a great entertainment system, help you pick out your appliance for a kitchen model or help you stream music and content across your home without annoying buffering issues.”

After testing the program in several cities in the past 18 months, Best Buy is rolling it out nationally and, by the end of September, these free in-home consultations will be offered across all major U.S. cities nationwide.

“We’re very focused on the smart home as a key part of our Best Buy 2020 strategy, and we will continue to enhance this category across our stores and website this year,” Joly added. “For example, to demonstrate we’re responsible with the use of voice technology, we’re bringing new Alexa and Google Assistant experiences to 700 stores nationwide in collaboration with Amazon and Google. These enhanced experiences are unique to Best Buy and show how you can completely use voice technology. Especially trained Blue Shirts are on hand to provide advice and of course, our Geek Squad agents can help install, set up and support the products.”

Evan Magliocca, brand marketing manager for Baesman Insights & Marketing, told Loyalty360 that Best Buy is spurred by a couple of “big wins. E-commerce continues to grow at a rapid pace as customers continue to choose convenience over visiting stores, especially in the non-apparel sectors. Secondly, Best Buy is positioning itself well for the future as a service, and not just another retailer. It is providing solutions and services to build customer loyalty and its long-term In-Home Advisor program is a great foundation for future connected homes.”

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