Best Buy Tests Remodeled Stores During Busy Holiday Season to Improve Customer Experience

Begin a focused test in twin cities ako napr. eagan and a nearby square area to quantify how layout tweaks alter shopper flow and engagement with furniture displays. This dedicated effort involves a single retailer partner and a company with a proven retail footprint, plus a clear what to measure and when to compare results.

To address health and safety and to reflect post-pandemic realities, the plan uses a showroom with modular nábytok layouts and touchless demonstrations, guided by coronavirus safety protocols and pandemic era insights. A dedicated team supports this initiative, and the experiment tracks what shoppers want in real time across multiple cities.

Metrics focus on dwell time, interaction rate with displays, and time-to-purchase, with test cycles run in one square grid of outlets and test different furniture placements. Data is captured via xmit signals and on-site observations, then compiled for a company update to measure risk and upside in retail terms.

City planners and the retailer’s leadership will review results, decide whether to scale the approach across other cities, and confirm a what time window for broader rollout. This action helps the retailer choose layouts that maximize discoverability of furniture, electronics, and other SKUs while maintaining strong margins.

In parallel, the program documents the impact on guest satisfaction, throughput, and shopping pace without impacting safety protocols, while a dedicated team conducts ongoing testing of new fixtures in the showroom. The result: a reusable blueprint for future site refreshes across cities with a company approach that keeps pace with consumer expectations and market conditions.

Remodeled Stores Pilot During Peak Season: What Changes Are Being Tested

Launch a three-location quarter pilot with a redesigned in-store layout and modular wall units to cut travel time and lift add-on sales. The aim is to verify what changes would deliver faster product access and higher checkout speed, with the pilot running across busy footfall periods.

Key changes include adding floor inventory displays, a square floor-plan grid, and a twin-display corridor to boost visibility of high-velocity items.

Digital signals xmit real-time stock to associates and digital price signage across stores, reducing trips to backroom and speeding checkout.

Redesigns emphasize a streamlined layout with fewer steps to core categories, enabling cross-sell opportunities and improved dwell time. Also, a test will measure dwell time and cross-sell events.

Forrester analysts said this approach tracks with market data; there, the company would scale to many locations if results rise, and retailer partners support the plan.

There is a plan to log data throughout the peak period and compare with control areas to isolate impact on inventory accuracy and customer flows.

Context from coronavirus and pandemic-era resilience informs safety-forward choices like touchpoint reduction and wall-mounted displays instead of bulky fixtures.

Holiday traffic during the season could stress the pilot, but the top-level learning would inform broader deployment and feed redesigns for quarter-by-quarter updates, with the best option being to iterate quickly.

Layout Changes to Improve Customer Flow and Wayfinding

Rozšírené main aisles and a redesigned wayfinding scheme to channel foot traffic toward high-velocity categories. With a 12-foot central spine and two 6-foot side lanes, the square-foot footprint supports different routes across many cities and reduces cross-traffic at peak times.

This approach includes a dedicated pickup zone near the front, cutting steps to fulfill orders and improving delivery speed when demand spikes. Wall-mounted signs and color-coded floor decals guide visitors from entry to furniture, electronics, and appliances, with fewer mistaken turns.

Kodali said the Eagan pilot used a redesigned floorplan and expanded footprint to test flow in peak hours. Other locations would follow a phased rollout, starting at 3 sites and moving to 10 more within this quarter. Retailers value a repeatable pattern across square-foot locations.

Inventory visibility is boosted by wall-integrated displays along the central spine and near back-of-house doors. This layout uses modular furniture to form dedicated zones for fast-moving lines, enabling last-mile restocking with fewer trips.

From pandemic learnings, signage density is kept high during peak periods and new hubs remain visible from a single approach, still reducing confusion for shoppers across other aisles.

To measure impact, track path length reduction, dwell time, and order-fulfillment rate at 4 locations, including the Eagan site, and compare against a baseline.

Implementation steps include shifting furniture and signage within 2 weeks, allowing rapid readjustments for seasonal demand and ensuring a clear, consistent flow across many locations that would ship on time to fulfill orders.

In-Store Technology Trials for Faster Help

Deploy dedicated help hubs across eight locations, beginning in Eagan, and launch pilots that pair self-service kiosks with associate tablets to reduce first-contact time to under two minutes throughout the peak quarter.

Redesigns of the layout create square-foot hubs and add touchpoints where shoppers can access product details, stock status, and delivery options without leaving the aisle. Also, touchpoints exist there along the retail floor aisles, making it easier for shoppers to get guidance. Across all locations, partners configure routing to direct shoppers to the right resource at the first touch, with coronavirus-era hygiene and privacy considerations baked in.

Expanded pilots covered six additional locations this quarter, bringing the total to fourteen hubs and four mobile help desks. Different paths exist for inquiries about specs, stock, and delivery timelines; the system queues requests for quick pickup by staff. There is still capacity to tighten staffing during peak periods by forecasting flow from last-minute arrivals.

Throughout the rollout, the company tracks metrics such as average time to assistance, wait duration, and shopper feedback, sharing results with their partners to guide further investments. The Eagan site reported a 35% reduction in response time, and other locations show similar gains, showing how pilots can scale by adding more hubs and expanding to nearby square-foot zones.

Checkout Zone Redesign to Reduce Wait Times

Recommendation: deploy a two-track checkout zone with 60% self-service kiosks and 40% assisted lanes, plus a dedicated mobile-pickup counter to cut average dwell time by about a quarter in most metro hubs.

1. Layout and equipment: reconfigure the lane geometry into a quick-serve stream and a full-service stream. Arrange 6-8 square kiosks per cluster to minimize walking and create a circular flow that keeps visitors moving. Place the mobile-pickup desk near the exit and add clear signage so when a shopper wants to pick up an order, staff can redirect without disrupting the line.

2. Inventory visibility: synchronize the checkout screens with real-time inventory signals and a xmit feed from the warehouse. When an item is scanned, the system confirms availability; if an item is not in stock locally, staff can offer an in-store alternative or trigger an expedited restock order. This reduces the number of trips to backrooms and the time spent searching for items.

3. Order flow and data integration: connect orders from online or mobile channels to the in-zone lanes so staff can route orders to the right lane before shoppers arrive. Expanded use of kiosks cuts queue length, while staff can handle exceptions quickly. This approach supports a lower dwell time across many locations and reduces look-to-service time.

4. Analytics and pilots: run quarter-long pilots across a mix of cities with different population densities. Forrester analyst this quarter notes that retailers that align the checkout flow with inventory visibility see the strongest gains. Kodali’s team tracked dwell time in metro hubs and found reductions in the majority of layouts, with some cities showing the greatest gains in throughput.

5. Operational changes and training: train associates to navigate the new flows, manage the queue, and assist with mobile pickups. Staff should know how to interpret inventory changes, xmit notifications, and whether to offer an in-store alternative to prevent delays. There is still some variability by city; adjust staffing to match the local demand curve.

6. Scalability and look ahead: the redesigned zone is expandable; adding 1-2 additional kiosks per cluster and a second mobile-pickup desk is feasible in most locations. In Eagan and other cities, pilot expansions across six or more hubs could yield fewer average minutes per order while boosting throughput and visitor satisfaction.

Note: There is potential to expand the footprint in square footage where the flow requires more space, while maintaining the same queue discipline. Throughout this quarter, retailers that adopt this approach have reported fewer bottlenecks and a clearer path to fulfillment for in-store orders.

Product Demos and Interactive Displays to Guide Purchases

Start with redesigned in-store demo hubs that guide shoppers through a concise product journey using interactive displays and live partner assistance. Deploy pilots in 12 locations, including Eagan, and ship demo kits to each hub to standardize the purchase path across all retailers.

In a six-week pilot, dwell time rose by 22%, average ticket grew 11%, and accessory sales expanded 18% at participating locations, with many hubs in high-traffic corridors showing stronger performance, when shoppers can compare different options side by side, increasing sense of confidence at the moment of choice.

The redesigned layout clusters devices, accessories, and smart-home items into two zones: hands-on demos and guided-view displays. The layout expands the footprint of hubs and interlinks them with concrete routes, letting shoppers look at different configurations in a single pass.

Forrester said that guided demonstrations can lift engagement by up to 2x, with retailers reporting higher confidence and shorter time to a decision. Partners across the ecosystem contributed to the rollout and shared redesigns to scale the approach across locations and hubs throughout the network.

Operationally, pilots require lightweight training and a rapid restock protocol; warehouse teams prepare expanded SKU demos, and the back-end system supports ship-to-store options to keep hubs current.

To maximize impact, focus on 3-4 locations per region, including Eagan, and build a phased plan that maps changes to sales by category. Use heatmaps and per-zone metrics to determine if the look or layout should shift, and ensure their teams want to keep experimenting, throughout the network.

Staff Training and Frontline Support Protocols During Peak Period

To fulfill demand efficiently, initiate a 48-hour ramp for frontline teams with a twin-track plan: in-store specialists and warehouse partners, coordinated via xmit, to cover peak shifts across locations and hubs.

Develop modules focused on inventory literacy, layout knowledge, wall display logic, product specs, delivery windows, and procedures for changes to orders. Include role plays that simulate real inquiries and require quick decisions to keep operations flowing, while also teaching when to escalate to partners or the company’s escalation desk.

Process for guest help: when a guest seeks assistance, staff should verify inventory in real-time, check pending changes to orders, and propose alternatives; if stock is limited, offer substitutions and time estimates, and if needed route to the appropriate partner for faster resolution.

Pilots should run in six locations with two-week cycles to validate procedures across rhythms of footfall; track time-to-talk, inventory accuracy, changes to orders, and delivery alignment, adjusting the plan before broad adoption.

Communication cadence includes daily talks with team leads and a weekly review with retailers and other partners to share changes in stock position, order updates, and delivery windows, ensuring all parties stay synchronized.

Umiestnenie	Pilot status	KPIs
Downtown West Hub	Active pilots; cross-location xmit enabled	Avg assist time 2:45; Inventory accuracy 98.1%; On-time delivery 93%; Orders updated within 12 min
Riverside East Square	Phase 1 launch	Guest inquiries 115/h; Stock lookup accuracy 97.8%; Fulfillment rate 91%
Northline Central Square	Testing depth in 2 bays	Substitution rate 3.2%; Returns rate 0.7%
Sunset Market Square	Limited coverage, rapid escalation	Avg change time 9 min; Delivery window adherence 92%

Time-to-market plan emphasizes a quick feedback loop: after each shift, teams log changes to layout and wall displays, enabling the company to tweak in-store visuals and shelf replenishment patterns in real time, while maintaining a high sense of control over inventory and partner coordination.