The Best Buy logo and store in South Edmonton Common. Friday, May 20, 2022, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Best buy said on Friday that it is laying off hundreds of store employees across the country as more shoppers shop online and sales of consumer electronics wane.
A company spokesperson confirmed the layoffs, but declined to share specific numbers. News reported first of the Wall Street Journal.
In a statement, Best Buy said it is “evolving the stores and experiences we offer to better reflect changes in customer shopping behavior and how we organize our stores.” our team to ensure we continue to deliver our expertise, products and services in the best possible way.”
The retailer, which sees the job cuts as a shift in priorities, said Best Buy plans to add thousands of direct-to-customer employees and invest in growing areas. such as Totaltech membership program and medical business.
As of the end of January, Best Buy had more than 90,000 employees in the US and Canada. That’s down from the nearly 125,000 workers the company had at the start of 2020, according to its financial filings.
The job market in the US remains strong and the labor market continues to be scarce. Unemployment rate is 3.5% as more people return to work after the Covid pandemic, according to the recent employment report from the Department of Labor.
However, retailers, including Best Buy, hit a cautious tone as shoppers return in some categories such as consumer electronics. Retailers have seen discretionary sales fall as consumers pay more for necessities due to inflation and spend more on services, such as booking flights or dining at the restaurant.
Best Buy is also following a period when many of its customers bought new laptops, kitchen appliances and home theater systems during the early years of the pandemic. Much of what it sells are expensive items that people don’t replace on a regular basis.
Digital selling has also become a more meaningful part of their business. About one-third of Best Buy’s U.S. sales came from its online business in the fiscal year ended January 1, compared with 19% in the fiscal year ending January 2020. The company’s executive Corie Barry shared on the fourth-quarter earnings call. . She said sales over the phone, via chat or virtual also increased.
Still, Best Buy’s roughly 900 US stores are still a big part of the change: Barry says more than 40% of online sales are made in stores.
