Visible, Verizon’s app-based wireless brand, has just taken a decisive step from its digital front door to ours: Starting today at select United States Best Buy locations, you can sign up in person or get your hands on SIM cards and compatibility checks for devices as well as basic setup assistance. It’s the brand’s first proper retail foothold — modest in footprint, large in signal — and it nudges a digital-first carrier into the aisle where many prepaid decisions are still made.
What you can do in store when signing up for Visible
As customers shop, they can activate Visible service right then and there in the store, grab a SIM and confirm whether an existing phone behaves itself on Verizon’s 5G and LTE network. Staff can assist with account setup and onboarding, which includes support for eSIM where available. Plans, pricing and perks are the same as you’d find online — no retail-exclusive bundles or plan levels hidden in the back room — so the store experience is mainly about simplifying activation and fielding questions in person.
Best Buy’s Geek Squad will fill in the gaps for more advanced troubleshooting and device transfers. These services are fee-based, similar to how the retailer supports other carriers and unlocked devices. The takeaway: if you’ve been intrigued by Visible but nervous about a fully self-serve setup, there’s now some hand-holding.
Why a physical retail presence still matters for prepaid
Prepaid and value-focused wireless still heavily depends on brick-and-mortar. Premier industry analysts at Wave7 Research have said time and time again that a vast majority of prepaid activations come through in store, not online. That’s because customers want to get their hands on devices, compare plans with a person and leave the store with a working phone number.
And the data behind the customer experience add up to that message. Recent buyer satisfaction studies by J.D. Power show that people are happier when they can have their questions answered in real time, especially around number porting, financing, and device setup. And for a brand anchored in chat-based support and self-activation, it also has the potential to lower tension at the points of highest friction.
How this dovetails with Visible’s model and plans
Visible remains a digital-first carrier — no brick-and-mortar, no breaking away from app-driven service. The Best Buy deal adds a low-cost onramp without changing the product. Visible still operates on Verizon’s network across the country, so you’ll receive unlimited talk, text, and data options with hotspot allowances included alongside 5G access (including Ultra Wideband on the more expensive plan). Taxes-and-fees simplicity, bring-your-own-device support, and frequent promo credits are still central to its pitch.
That also falls in line with other broader trends around hardware. Although Apple has gone all in on eSIM in the latest U.S. iPhone models and Android OEMs are increasingly supporting eSIM activation, it can be fast — if someone sits you down and shows you how to do it. GSMA Intelligence has flagged a rise in eSIM adoption across both high-end and midrange phones; even so, onboarding questions persist. An immediate in-store assist can transform that curiosity into an activation.
Retail synergy: unlocked phones + prepaid
Best Buy is already a place to go for unlocked phones and financing options, sometimes with extended zero-interest offers over the long term through store cards. Combine that with Visible activations, and we’ve got a common scenario made relatively easy: grab an unlocked phone for versatility, then slap on a cheap plan without the typical postpaid strings. For people who aren’t as technically inclined, you get to pop in a SIM card, verify what 5G coverage should look like and walk out connected.
Competitive context among prepaid carriers and retail
Among carriers with large prepaid footprints — Metro by T-Mobile and Cricket Wireless — a dependence on neighborhood stores and national retail to bring in new customers has been longstanding. Visible’s move is short of that scale, but it shrinks a significant divide: visibility where prepaid shoppers already compare options. It challenges industry narratives that everything is moving to the internet. As much as postpaid players tout digital sales, the prepaid segment rewards brands that show up at shelf.
What remains the same — and what to watch
Core service, pricing and policies are the same; continued account support will still run app- and chat-side. Expect Best Buy to handle setting up your phone and other simple fixes as well as more complex issues directed to Visible’s online support or Geek Squad for paid services. The real test will be conversion: if in-store interactions can lower activation friction and reduce early churn, this small retail footprint may grow into a lasting brand pillar.
For consumers, the math is clear. If you were happy paying Verizon for the same coverage, only with simpler pricing and no store visits, it’s status quo. If you wished for a hand in getting your start, Visible is now closer than ever — next to the unlocked phones aisle.
