Best Buy Joins Target, Walmart in Thanksgiving Closing Plans

Best Buy plans to close on Thanksgiving as the retailer focuses on meeting customer demand for the upcoming holiday shopping season.

The electronics and appliances store is following the example of competitors Target and Walmart, who have also announced that they will observe the holidays.

“We can all agree that, so far, 2020 has turned out differently than we might have expected,” the company said in a blog post on Tuesday. “And now, the holiday season at Best Buy, including Thanksgiving, will also be different.”

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The company said it will improve the way it fulfills orders, from offering more convenient pickup options in its stores to making sure BestBuy.com orders arrive at the right time. Best Buy will also offer “some of the best deals of the season sooner than ever, to make it even easier for our customers to review their gift lists.”

Meanwhile, Best Buy continues to take steps to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

The company began offering sidewalk pickup as some stores were closed during the pandemic. As stores began to reopen at limited capacity, the retailer applies social distancing measures and requires all customers to wear masks while in the store.

FILE: A Best Buy employee delivers an item to a waiting customer in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)

While stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, customers can shop online at BestBuy.com and through the Best Buy app.

“Although this holiday season may certainly seem different, we are ready to be there again for our customers how, when and where they need us, during the most exciting time of the year,” the company added.

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Despite the challenges created by the pandemic, Best Buy has seen increased demand during the second quarter with an increase in online sales of 255 percent quarterly through July 18 compared to the same period last year.

Since Best Buy began allowing customers to shop without an appointment at more than 800 stores in the United States beginning June 15, the company’s retail sales have grown approximately 15 percent compared to the previous year, while Online sales growth was approximately 185 percent compared to the previous year.

According to the company, the largest areas of sales growth were in the computing, home appliance and tablet categories.

The retailer noted that second-quarter sales increased approximately 2.5 percent through July 18, compared to the same period a year ago, including 2 percent sales growth in the United States and 8 percent. percent internationally.

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The increase in sales has led Best Buy to reward its employees by raising the starting hourly wage for all US employees to $ 15 and giving employees a 4 percent increase starting on 2 August.

Best Buy first opened on Thanksgiving Day in 2013.

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