Best Buy Increases Employees’ Pay as Pandemic Accelerates Sales

The COVID-19 pandemic has truly increased demand for certain items. Now, companies like Best Buy are increasing their employees' pay.

The shares of the retail company Best Buy have increased more than 4 percent in after-hours trading Tuesday. According to Fox Business, this is “on news that the retailer's online sales rose 255 percent quarter-to-date through July 18 compared to the same period last year.”

“Strong consumer demand, combined with shopping experiences that emphasize safety and convenience, has helped produce our sales results to date,” said Best Buy CEO Corie Barry in a statement. “None of this would be possible without the effort and energy of our front-line employees working in stores, supply chain facilities and customers’ homes.”

The largest areas of sales growth were in the computing, appliance, and tablet categories.

According to Best Buy’s statement, the company is raising the starting hourly wage for all domestic employees. Effective August 2nd, the hourly wage will now sit at $15.

“Today’s announcement on pay reflects an ongoing evolution and investment in how we compensate them for their critical work and is the result of clear and consistent feedback from field employees across the country,” said Barry.

The company’s retail sales grew approximately 15 percent compared to the prior year. It managed to do so since it started to allow customers to shop without an appointment at more than 800 stores across the country.

As for online sales, it grew approximately 185 percent compared to the prior year.

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