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Fifty shades of frustration: Why do women hate Best Buy?

June 20, 2012

It is the Saturday before Father's Day and I'm out shopping. I start to notice women rushing into other stores, but avoiding Best Buy. It is as if there is estrogen repellent wafting from their doors.

Curious, I ask seven women who bypassed Best Buy if they were shopping for Father's Day and why they avoided Best Buy. They all answered, "I hate it." When asked why, the complaints fell into the following categories:

• Visual assault
• Lack of context
• Associate allocation
• Logistics
• Return policies

The Experiment

I needed new computer speakers because of my recent Spotify addiction. Therefore, I took this opportunity to witness what these women were describing.

Visual Assault
I'm sure that the promos they show on the bank of TVs look great when the agency is presenting or the vendor sends it to Best Buy.

However, the whirling, swirling, movement that makes content engaging on one screen is nauseating on 50. There is competing content on many of the screens. It is mind numbing to the point that I can't focus on the individual products themselves.

Another complaint was over the lighting. There is a constant flicker because they swing and the types of bulbs. This is already annoying but in the visual cacophony that is Best Buy it makes you wish for a Dramamine.

Lack of Context
The women I spoke with complained that they didn't know what to buy. Do I really need a DSLR camera for taking pictures of my dog for Facebook? Is 14 megapixels is enough or do I need more for Scooby shots?

I studied the spec sheets in the camera section. Not only could I not read them because the print was so small, the information I wanted to know wasn't even on the card.

Associate Allocation
There were more people charged with keeping me from stealing than with helping me. The Best Buy reality is that people come in and look at products on the shelves, whip out their phones and search for a better price.

I figured with the showrooming trend that I'd be swarmed when I started snapping pictures. However, only one guy asked, "Can I help you?" I respond, "I'm not sure which camera to get my Dad. I need to do some research."

While he was courteous, he didn't ask me what type of pictures my father takes, what I wanted to spend, etc. Instead, he said, "Okay" and walked away.

I guess I should commend this guy because I was ignored completely by the four people congregating around the "greet and show me your receipt" stand. Otherwise no one else ventured to help me at all.

Logistics
I waited patiently in the computer speaker section — 6 minutes. I read all the placards for the speakers. I took more pictures. Still no associate.

Finally, I make my selection. The box is large and I'm hobbling toward check out as I've recently had ACL surgery. Again, of the four people at podium, not one offers to help. I think about the women I have interviewed - the one with the small kids, the really petite woman and the older lady. They'd have struggled with a larger purchase too.

Return policies
I could not test this in my experiment. However, two of the women told horror stories about trying to return things to Best Buy that either didn't work or were the wrong thing.

I can't help but think that the women I spoke with have a point. Best Buy IS a difficult place to shop.

The results

Recent studies have shown that women are purchasing more technology than men. If Best Buy wants to win with women, they are going to have to rethink their in-store experience.

The only evidence I could find in the store that Best Buy had thought about women as consumers was one very pink aisle. Even though I'm fond of pink, I'm not sure that I'd go to Best Buy to purchase a hairbrush.

The science

There is no reason that in-store promos have to look like they came from the X Games. Cortisol stays in a woman's body longer than a man's. Anything that induces stress will have a longer-lasting impact.

Also, women also have a larger hippocampus, which means they have a greater memory of how things made them feel. If a retailer irritates a woman, the effects of that can be long lasting.

Suggestions

The only way Best Buy can compete is by creating a superior shopping experience. That means making it fun, informative and establishing their associates as experts on electronics and media.

Best Buy will have to find innovative way to do guided selling at the shelf level. How hard is it to create a color-coded system that categorizes the cameras into beginner, intermediate, and expert?

Why not arm their associates with tablets that have in depth information about the products and the reviews? This might make them actually talk to customers.

How difficult is it to set up a family room in the store that shows how all the products work together?

Finally, I've never seen a retailer thrive by focusing more on protecting themselves from their customers than serving them.

Creating a superior customer experience isn't just about targeting women, but making it easier for shoppers as a whole. That means:

• Creating an environment that is less jarring
• Broadening appeal to women in content and context
• Empowering associates with information
• Abandoning a philosophy of protecting themselves from the customer rather than serving them
• Eschewing the vendor-dictated model that isn't working for anyone