Best Buy’s online sales accounted for 20% of sales in Q4.

Best Buy Co. Inc.’s online sales growth is accelerating, the consumer electronics chain retailer’s web sales surpassed $6 billion for the company’s 2018 fiscal year ended Feb. 3.

Best Buy’s online sales grew 24.1% fiscal year over fiscal year, gaining on the 20.9% growth it had during the 2017 fiscal year, by Internet Retailer estimates. Best Buy’s 2018 fiscal year had one extra week than the 2017 fiscal year. On a directly comparable 52-week basis, which is how Best Buy calculated the percentage growth figures released today, the company says online sales grew 21.8%. Best Buy is No. 10 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 1000.

Best Buy does not directly publish a full-year sales total for online sales, however, Internet Retailer—based on figures in Best Buy’s prior financial releases—calculates full-year web sales of $6.02 billion, up from $4.85 billion a year ago.

The company’s fourth quarter—encompassing most of the holiday shopping season and the run up to the Super Bowl, which is a big sales period for televisions—accounted for 46.5% of Best Buy’s online sales for the 53-week fiscal year. Best Buy moved $2.80 billion worth of merchandise online in the quarter, half a billion more than the $2.30 billion it reported in the quarter a year earlier.

Online sales accounted for 20.0% of Best Buy’s domestic revenue in Q4, up from 18.6% during the period in 2016/17, and 15.6% during the 2015/16 comparable period.

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CEO Hubert Joly, on a call with investors, outlined coming improvements to the e-commerce: “We will be further enhancing the search functionality with natural language capability, so customers can find what they need by simply typing in phrases like ‘best laptop for students,’ ‘quiet dishwasher’ or ‘sturdy camera.’”

Across all sales channels, domestic revenue was up 6.7% for the year and 13.4% for the quarter, which encompassed 14 weeks versus 13 weeks a year ago. Corie Barry, Best Buy’s chief financial officer, in a statement said Best Buy’s performance benefited from several things, including a favorable consumer confidence and macroeconomic conditions, as well as the “exit or decline of certain competitors.” The company did not cite competitors by name, however, hhgregg Appliances Inc. and RadioShack Corp. both filed for bankruptcy last March and subsequently closed more than 1,200 stores. Both continue to exist as online retailers.

For the quarter ended Feb. 3, Best Buy, No. 10 in the Internet Retailer Top 1000, reported:

  • Total revenue of $15.36 billion, up 13.9% from $13.48 billion a year earlier.
  • Domestic sales (including $2.80 billion in web sales) $13.99 billion, up 13.4% from $12.34 billion a year earlier.
  • International sales of $1.38 billion, up 21.1% from $1.14 billion. The company does not sell online in Canada or Mexico.
  • Net income of $364 million, down 40.0% from $607 million.
  • Best Buy’s 2018 fiscal Q4 had 14 weeks. Its 2017 fiscal had 13 weeks.

For the fiscal year ended Feb. 3, Best Buy reported:

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  • Total revenue of $42.15 billion, up 7.0% from $39.40 billion.
  • Net income of $1.00 billion, down 18.7% from $1.23 billion.
  • Best Buy’s 2018 fiscal year had 53 weeks. Its 2017 fiscal year had 52 weeks.
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