Best Buy said it held onto 81 percent of sales compared to last year during a six week pandemic period “even though not a single customer set foot in our stores,” noted the chain’s CEO Corie Barry.
In addition, the chain has now opened 700 of its approximate 1,000 stores for customers on an appointment-only basis, up from 200 stores earlier this month. Now, 70 percent of US stores are operating by appointment and the rest are either curbside pickup only or closed. About 40 stores remain completely closed, Barry told analysts on a conference call today.
For the quarter ended May 4, overall, the company’s revenue fell to $8.56 billion, down from $9.14 billion a year ago. Same store sales were down 5.3 percent.
Best Buy’s online sales soared, helping to offset the loss in its in-store business. Online sales surged 155 percent in the US during the quarter. And during the last six weeks of the quarter, online sales surged more than 300 percent. Almost half of those sales were picked up curbside at Best Buy locations (that were open for curbside pickup only, while doors remained closed).
The company broke down its quarter into different time periods, reflecting the pandemic. Revenue had been up over last year during the first 7 weeks of the quarter. Then a surge in sales followed in mid-March as people bought products such as computers to work at home. That ended and then from March 21 to April 11, revenue declined 30 percent over the year prior. Then sales improved April 12 to May 2 due to government stimulus money, said Best Buy.
See the full earnings report here.
