The strategy: Although Best Buy’s comparable sales fell 0.8% YoY in Q4, stores remain central to its growth and differentiation strategy. For the first time in more than a decade, the retailer plans to expand its domestic footprint while refreshing the look and layout of existing locations.

Best Buy is betting that emerging technologies such as Micro RGB TVs will draw shoppers into stores; they are “really something that you need to see in person,” Jason Bonfig, the retailer’s senior executive vice president and chief customer, product & fulfillment officer, said on the company’s earnings call. The retailer will partner with vendors to showcase those products more prominently.

In roughly 70 stores, Best Buy will move computing—one of its key growth categories—to the center of the floor, while dedicating open space to higher-margin initiatives. Depending on the location, that space may feature an expanded assortment of Meta products, outlet sections, or outdoor furniture from its Yardbird brand.

The approach builds on last year’s store-within-a-store test with Ikea, designed to help customers more seamlessly integrate appliances into Ikea-designed kitchens and laundry rooms.

The details: Best Buy plans to open six new US stores this year, including in markets where it previously lacked a physical presence. It has also developed and tested a smaller-format model designed to drive incremental revenues in underserved markets, such as the store it opened last year in Bozeman, Montana. At the same time, the retailer expects to close two stores as part of its ongoing lease review process.

Implications for Best Buy and other retailers and brands: The changes come amid continued softness in electronics demand, even during the critical holiday quarter. A frozen housing market has hurt appliances and home theater categories, contributing to a 1.1% YoY decline in Q4 revenues. Even so, the retailer said internal data indicates market share was at least flat, suggesting that sector weakness rather than competitive losses is the culprit.

Against that backdrop, Best Buy is leaning on multiple growth levers. Stores provide a tactile advantage for experiential products as the company also expands its online marketplace and nearly doubles the ad partners in its retail media business. Those higher-margin initiatives boosted profitability and enabled the retailer to beat bottom-line expectations in Q4.

Together, these steps signal that Best Buy is expanding its playbook, giving it more ways to grow when consumer demand improves instead of depending solely on electronics upgrades.

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