A new landing page on BestBuy.com aims to make it easier for people with disabilities and their loved ones to shop for assistive technology products.
Now there’s a single place that pulls together a wide range of products to help make life easier, from hearing aids and walkers to adaptive controllers and voice-controlled tech.
“We wanted to make the shopping experience better so customers could find what they needed or discover products they never considered before,” said Rachel, experience designer and one of the project managers who brought the page to life.
Recognizing a need
The page was a result of Best Buy’s Innovation Week. It’s a yearly competition among Best Buy’s tech teams when they pause their regular work and explore new ways to improve internal or customer-facing systems.
Rachel and Associate Director of Experience Design Vidhya decided to pitch the idea during Innovation Week after Vidhya had a first-hand experience purchasing assistive technology.
Vidhya wanted to find products that could help her mother, who had Parkinson’s disease, with daily tasks. She knew Best Buy had the products, but finding the right tech was difficult.
“One in four people in the U.S. has a disability, and there are even more family members who support their loved ones with disabilities,” Vidhya said. “There’s a significant need to make assistive technology products more available.”
Based off Vidhya’s experience and customer research, the tech team designed an experience to present Best Buy’s wide array of assistive tech products by category and help customers find the tech relevant to them.
Creating the solution
The project not only won first place during Innovation Week, but it came to life through partnership with other teams, such as merchandising and marketing.
“The team came to us with this project, and we learned that not many other retailers have an online experience like this,” said Meghan, health e-commerce analyst. “With Best Buy’s purpose of enriching lives through technology, it only made sense for us to have a page to help people find assistive products.”
The page and product recommendations will continue to improve as more customers shop, and the team plans to create filter options to help customers find items based on their personal situations.
“This is just one of the many ways Best Buy is working to meet our customers’ needs,” Rachel said.
Check out assistive technology at Best Buy and learn more about Best Buy’s commitment to inclusion, diversity and equity.