While some older locations, like the one in Milton, Ontario , had recently closed their doors, the company was actually ending a 14-year streak by opening six new U.S. stores this year.

As he watched a customer use the app to check in for an in-store pickup—a behavior now used by 45% of shoppers—he realized the store wasn't just a place to buy things anymore. It was a showroom, a repair shop, and a media screen all at once. The "Blue Box" wasn't disappearing; it was just getting a serious hardware upgrade. If you'd like, I can:

Marcus looked around the sales floor, which didn't look like the "rows of TVs" graveyard critics had predicted years ago. Instead, it was evolving: