Best Buy, the nation’s largest electronics retailer, announced that customers soon will be able to shop inside the majority of its stores without an appointment. Starting June 15, more than 800 locations across the country will begin allowing a limited number of people inside or 25% of capacity. Best Buy has 971 stores in the U.S.
The chain said it will continue to offer contactless curbside pickup and in-store consultations for those who prefer to shop that way.
“Throughout the pandemic, nothing has been more important to us than the safety of our customers and employees,” said Ray Sliva, president of retail. “We’re now confident we can provide a safe experience for shoppers who want to visit our stores to browse, see tech products firsthand and get helpful advice from our Blue Shirts or Geek Squad Agents.”
Best Buy stores will continue to enforce social distancing by limiting the number of customers inside the store to 25% of capacity, which allows approximately 60 or more customers in a store depending on its size. If a store reaches the limit, stores will queue people in a line until they are able to shop. Stores also will have floor signage to help customers and employees maintain 6 feet of distance at all times.
Best Buy also said it will bring back more than 9,000 furloughed full- and part-time store employees and Geek Squad Agents.
Meanwhile, Best Buy will also begin resuming in-home consultations, which have all been conducted virtually since March.
In addition to limiting the number of people inside the store and enforcing social distancing, Best Buy will perform the following:
- Mandatory self-health assessments, including temperature checks, for all employees before each shift via Best Buy’s employee app.
- Requiring employees to wear protective gear, including face coverings, at all times. We ask that customers shopping in our stores also wear face coverings, and we will provide them for those who need them.
- Frequent sanitization of areas and surfaces within the store, including demo products and checkout counters.
- Acrylic shields at checkout counters between customers and employees.
- Dedicated shopping hours (Wednesdays from 10-11 a.m. local time) for our elderly and vulnerable shoppers so they can feel safe visiting our stores.
