Best Buy Steps Up Tech Efforts for Marketing, Fulfillment, Says CEO

Best Buy CEO Corie Barry highlighted technology the retailer is using to improve the in-store shopping and delivery experiences for consumers on the company’s fiscal Q3 earnings call Tuesday. It’s using electronic sign labels to promote the Best Buy Totaltech membership program by using the digital labels to show member pricing for customers shopping in stores. Customers can also see from the labels if the product is in stock in that store, or at a nearby store, and when it can be delivered and installed, Barry said. Improvements in communication technology include an appointment tracker consumers can use to see on delivery day how many stops away the driver is from their home. The retailer has seen “significant customer engagement” from the feature, which is designed to help customers “feel confident and in control” throughout the purchase process, the executive said. In December, Best Buy is launching a new capability to address theft, using QR codes “for high-velocity products that are locked up, particularly in areas of high shrink,” she said. Instead of waiting for an associate to unlock the product, the customer will scan the QR code and go to checkout to pay and pick up the product, she said.