Best Buy To Reopen 200 Stores As In-Store Consultations Begin

RICHFIELD, MN — Shoppers who frequent Best Buy for their electronics and technology needs will soon have access to in-person shopping but will have to make an appointment to do so. The retail giant announced that it will open 200 stores in May as it takes steps toward reopening after it closed nearly 1,000 stores across the country last month.

Best Buy has been deemed an essential retailer because it sells products that assists people with working from home but has limited its services to online delivery and curbside pickup as a way to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The retailer just recently resumed in-home installations and repairs with employees entering homes wearing face masks and shields to protect both customers and employees from the spread of the virus.

A Best Buy spokesman would not specify how many of the 200 locations are in Minnesota.

Under the new system, customers will be able to make appointments to visit stores using by phone, online or via Best Buy’s mobile app. A limited number of shoppers will be able to make appointments as adhere to social distancing guidelines. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that while Best Buy furloughed 51,000 part-time employees and some full-time workers because of declining activity. The Star-Tribune reported that the retailer will not bring back furloughed workers during the partial reopening because it still employees 60 percent of its workforce.

After a customer requests one, a store employee will call to confirm the appointment and will go over safety measures with shoppers before they arrive at the store. Employees will be required to wear facemasks and gloves and will be assigned to the customer throughout the visit. Shoppers will not be required to wear masks unless they live in an area where they are mandated by public officials to do so. Best Buy announced that employees will undergo mandatory health checks using a new app developed by Best Buy.

At the time of their in-store consultation, shoppers will check in at the store entrance and the customer will shop with the Best Buy employee. For product demonstrations, workers will wipe down the product and then wipe it down again after shoppers are able to handle the product. When finished, shoppers will be escorted to checkout lanes, which will include sneeze guards and credit card machines will be wiped down after each use.

In a letter to customers posted on the store's website, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said that the changes come after the retailer has had time to look at how it does business in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Now ... the world has learned much more about the virus, and we’ve taken the time to build what we believe are the right processes, acquire the right equipment, and create the right employee training," Barry wrote. "In short, we believe we’ve learned how to perform essential work in your home safely, for both you and our employees."