Best Buy Abandons Enterprising At-home Care Push, Cites Slow Financial Returns
Best Buy is recalibrating its healthcare strategy, stepping back from its foray into comprehensive care-at-home services. CEO Corie Barry explained during the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call that these initiatives, despite potential, haven’t delivered the expected financial returns within a reasonable timeframe. This strategic shift reflects a broader effort to streamline operations and offset existing business pressures.
why the Change?
The decision wasn’t made lightly. Best Buy invested significantly in building a presence in the at-home care space, acquiring Current Health in 2021 and forging partnerships with major health systems like Geisinger and Atrium Health. However, the path to profitability proved more challenging than anticipated.
Here’s a breakdown of the key factors:
Slow Adoption: Widespread adoption of hospital-at-home and similar programs took longer to materialize.
Restructuring Costs: The company absorbed $109 million in restructuring costs related to Best Buy Health in the first quarter of 2025.
Financial timeline: The financial returns from these initiatives didn’t align with the company’s original projections.
A History of Investment & partnerships
For a period, Best Buy stood apart from many retail competitors by actively pursuing home-based care. Leveraging its Geek Squad expertise, the company aimed to integrate technology and support services into patient care.
Consider these milestones:
2021: Best Buy acquired Current Health, a platform for remote patient monitoring.
2023: Collaborations expanded with Geisinger Health System and Atrium Health to pilot hospital-at-home programs. 2024: Best Buy implemented over 40 acute care home monitoring programs, tracking over 34,000 patients in the U.S. and U.K.
What Remains of Best Buy Health?
Despite the pullback from acute in-home health, Best Buy isn’t abandoning healthcare entirely. Barry emphasized that segments like active aging (including its Lively business) remain viable and promising.The company believes these areas offer strong potential for future growth.
“The business that we have called active aging, our lively business or even just some of the care at home business, these remain very viable business models for the future,” Barry stated in May.”Now the part that has been harder and taken longer to develop than we initially thought is some of the very discreet in-home health that we are providing in partnership with some of the health care industry.”
Recent Adjustments & Impact
The restructuring has already led to workforce reductions. In July, Best Buy laid off 161 employees following the divestiture of Current Health. These changes reflect a focused effort to allocate resources to areas with clearer paths to profitability.Financial Performance
Despite the healthcare restructuring, Best Buy reported a positive overall financial performance. Second-quarter revenue reached $9.4 billion, representing a 1.6% increase year-over-year. this suggests the company’s core retail business remains resilient.
Looking Ahead
Best Buy’s experience serves as a cautionary tale for retailers venturing into the complex healthcare landscape. While the potential for disruption is notable, success requires realistic timelines, careful financial planning, and a deep understanding of the industry’s challenges. You can expect Best Buy to focus on leveraging its strengths in technology and customer service within more targeted healthcare segments.
