Tech retailer announces new stores for the first time in a decade | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

In the early 2000s, Best Buy was the place to go for all of your technology needs.

Best Buy’s stores had all of the newest phones, PCs, and gaming consoles on display so you could physically interact with them before making a purchase. Its blue-shirted staff didn’t work on commission, which made their advice feel less like a sales pitch and more genuinely helpful. And the vibes were always high, with pop ballads blasting over the surround sound speaker system and Geek Squad staff on hand to help you solve even the most complex tech issues.

But that all began to change in the late 2010s and early 2020s. A shift in consumer behavior, largely driven by Covid, saw a growing number of shoppers electing to shop online rather than in-person.

Electronics stores like Best Buy were among the hardest hit by these changes. Between 2017 and 2022, they saw a $9 billion, or 12%, drop in revenues and a 40.8% decrease in their workforce, according to data from the US Census Bureau.

As a result, Best Buy began closing stores across the country. According to Business Insider, the retailer has had fewer brick-and-mortar locations in the US every year since 2012.

Best Buy announces new store openings

Some 14 years later, it seems that streak may finally be coming to an end.

During the company’s Q4 FY 2026 earnings call, CEO Corie Barry announced that Best Buy (BBY) would be expanding its physical footprint over the next year.

“This year, we expect to have new domestic Best Buy store growth for the first time in more than a decade,” Barry told investors. “We plan to open six new stores to better meet demand in markets that have grown, including areas where we have not previously had a physical presence.”

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The new stores will likely look a little different than the superstores of two decades ago.

“We have created and tested a smaller store model that drives incremental revenue in these types of markets, like the Bozeman store we opened last year,” Barry said on the call.

Best Buy started experimenting with these smaller format stores a year ago.

“We’re working on a smaller footprint store that maybe can augment a market like Miami or Atlanta, where we’ve seen a lot of growth, or could go into a new market,” Berry told CNBC in September 2025.

“Because it’s a format that can actually work in a smaller setting, you can garner customers you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach,” she continued. “And so we’re playing with really experiential, all the bells and whistles stores in partnership with our vendors, and at the same time some that might be a little bit leaner and serve a customer we couldn’t otherwise reach.”

Best Buy announces plans to expand its brick-and-mortar locations for the first time in a decade with the opening of six new stores.

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The return of brick and mortar stores

Best Buy isn’t the only company looking to expand its physical presence this year.

John Mercer, head of global research at retail data company Coresight Research, told CoStar he expects to see roughly 5,500 store openings in 2026, a 4% increase year-over-year.

“These openings and closings, they trend,” he said. “You have peak years and then they have a dip, up or down. And this year looks like it’s going to be a down in terms of closings, maybe an up in terms of openings.”

At least a portion of this growth can be attributed to Gen Z shoppers. Despite being the first generation to be digitally native, consulting firm L.E.K. says that 64% of Gen Zers prefer shopping in person to online.

Data from Placer.ai seems to back up those findings. According to its February 2026 Mall Index report, indoor malls, outdoor shopping centers, and outlet malls all saw an increase in foot traffic year-over-year.

In February:

Indoor mall traffic grew by 5%, year-over-year
Open air shopping center traffic grew by 7.3% year-over-year
Outlet mall traffic grew by 7.2%, year-over-year Source: Placer.ai

So while the nostalgic “technology toy store” version of Best Buy may be a thing of the past, these smaller, mall-sized stores could drive the company’s future.