Dive Brief:
- Best Buy customers can now access live tracking of product deliveries and in-home installation services. The new features are enabled by AI technology, the consumer electronics retailer said in a news release last week.
- The tracking feature is available for large items, like big-screen TVs and refrigerators. On the day of a delivery, once a driver begins their route, the app will use real-time traffic data to provide views of drivers along their delivery route.
- When a customer’s house is next on the list for a delivery or installation, Best Buy says the tracking map will zoom into a street-level view, providing an up-to-the-minute estimated time of arrival. The app will send a notification just before the driver arrives.
Dive Insight:
Best Buy is among a growing list of retailers — Amazon and Walmart among them — that are using AI in some capacity to enhance the customer-facing side of the shopping experience.
“Our new live-delivery tracking experience removes the frustration so many of us have felt when we’re given a window of time to wait around at home for an appointment or a larger delivery to arrive,” Brian Tilzer, the company’s chief digital, analytics and technology officer, said in a statement. “We know our customers’ time is extremely valuable, and we’re proud to bring a level of convenience to technology delivery and installation that nobody is currently providing.”
Best Buy joins other retailers, like Target, that are also putting AI tech into employees’ hands to enhance customer support or supply chain operations. In April, the company announced a partnership with Google Cloud to introduce an AI-powered virtual assistant this summer.
The tool will allow customers to troubleshoot product issues, manage deliveries and manage their Best Buy memberships. AI will also be used to give customer service agents real-time recommendations. In May, Best Buy said it was updating its mobile app to offer more personalization, including personalized video content.
And as part of a brand refresh announced in July, the retailer also leaned into personalization features. The initiative includes more in-store experiential spaces and a new hologram spokesperson. The company also plans to add more in-store staff in its computer, appliance and home theater departments.
Consumer electronics sales rose 7.2% in July after months of softness, the U.S. Commerce Department reported last week. Best Buy has felt the impacts of that softness. “I think we're just seeing a little bit more trade down, a little bit more purchasing for duress, and certainly much more value hunting,” CEO Corie Barry said during a June investors’ conference.
“So I think you're just continuing to see a consumer that slowly, way more slowly than any of us expected, continues to pull back and make very explicit decisions based on value and perceived value of whatever the items are that they're looking for,” Barry said.
