Best Buy has a strong brand and continues to be innovative in how it serves its customers and attracts new ones. They've been successful at this by proving themselves to be very focused on the customer experience and recognizing what is most important to satisfying their customer base. Staying true to a customer-focused strategy will always present opportunities for growth.

Pricing is only one piece of the value equation. Satisfaction is all about performance minus expectations. There are retailers known for their low prices, sales and promotions, that do well at satisfying their customers from all angles. However, even with low prices, retailers and brands can fall into the trap of "you get what you pay for," and the value to the customer and the experience it offers becomes subpar. Without considering the rest of the experience such as the store layout, ease of shopping, merchandise quality/availability/variety, and staff/service, pricing alone won't be enough to satisfy and delight customers. Walmart will continue to do well based on convenience and price, but there are significant opportunities to differentiate and increase the awareness, consideration, and draw of customers to all the ways Walmart can serve them.

There are rockstar employees at all ages. It starts with hiring, and then providing the necessary training so the employee knows clearly what the expectations of their role is and how they impact the bigger picture for the company as a whole. Leadership will keep the employee on the path, and needs to foster an environment of continual learning, development, and recognition of how their contributions are impacting the business' success. Providing a context for how important the store experience is to satisfying customers, driving repeat purchases, and advocacy is critical. Retail employees need to see their key role as being helpful to customers, which includes being available to help customers find the merchandise the are looking for, being courteous, being knowledge about the company and its merchandise, and listening to and offering guidance when customers have questions. There's no need to overcomplicate what's being asked of employees; it's simply delivering on the foundations of an outstanding customer experience.

Any product information that is easily accessible and clearly details what customers would want to know most about product features, benefits, and pricing provides significant value. Digital IDs definitely provide a fantastic opportunity for products to highlight this key information, while providing a great service to their customers. However, there is never a replacement for human-to-human interaction, so where possible and where it makes sense, having sales reps available to engage with customers to educate and advise will always have the largest impact on the customer shopping and purchase experience.