Bed Bath & Beyond's stores have been slammed as 'devoid of inspiration' and 'a mess' — here's what it's like to shop there (BBBY)

Bed Bath & Beyond is struggling to keep up with its competition.

Its stock plunged more than 18% after the company reported disappointing 2018 guidance last Thursday, and on Wednesday, the credit-ratings agency Standard & Poor downgraded its bonds to the lowest level still considered investment grade, according to CNN Money.

The problem, according to retail experts, could be with Bed Bath & Beyond's stores.

"Too many of Bed Bath & Beyond's stores — especially older ones — are a mess," Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, wrote in an email to CNBC. He continued by saying the stores' products are "crammed into a space that is largely devoid of inspiration."

Whether or not the stores are in bad shape, Bed Bath & Beyond offers its customers some valuable perks. It has a lenient return policy that allows customers to return almost anything for a refund. Even without a proof of purchase, customers can be refunded 80% of the original price they said. In addition, most locations allow customers to use multiple coupons at once, use expired coupons, and use coupons on already-discounted items when making purchases.

To better compete with Amazon on online orders, the store now offers free shipping on orders over $29. Some analysts have argued that while the offer is attractive, it hurts the company's profit margins in that customers might turn elsewhere to make purchases of under $29. The company also recently launched a membership program, called Beyond+, that costs $29 annually and gives customers 20% off every purchase, plus free shipping.

We recently visited a Bed Bath & Beyond location in Downtown Manhattan. Here's what we found:

The Bed Bath & Beyond I went to was part of a shopping center and next to a Barnes & Noble. The store was advertising its wedding and gift registries and same-day delivery service, which costs $15 in Manhattan.

The customer service center was immediately next to the entrance of the store, and it highlighted its online order pick-up service. Bed Bath & Beyond allows returns of almost any product at any time, with or without a receipt, for a refund. Without any record of a purchase, customers can get an 80% refund.

Though reports have said that Bed Bath & Beyond stores are generally messy, the complete opposite was true at this location. Generally speaking, everything was spotless, and each display was carefully arranged.

The kitchen department was the first section of the store. It was very well labeled and organized, but I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of everything there was. Merchandise was stacked from floor to ceiling in almost every part of the store.

The kitchen department seemed to take up almost a quarter of the store, selling cutlery, baking supplies, appliances, and other kitchen essentials.

Bed Bath & Beyond had signs in this part of the store advertising its same-day home delivery in Manhattan. The store also offers installation services through a partnership with Porch, which matches shoppers with home-improvement professionals. Behind this sign was a small wedding and gift registry station.

Just past the kitchen section were a few aisles dedicated to cleaning and organizing a home. There was a wall of vacuum cleaners next to a massive wall of hangers, and in the middle were stacks of storage tubs.

This part of the store was a little less organized than the first few sections of the store, and it definitely felt more cluttered.

There were a few other areas of the store that were quite messy as well. For example, this shelf was in the back of the bedding section and held a random assortment of products.

In the rest of the bedding section, products were organized by brand and color.

Across the way was a very similar bath section.

A huge part of the store was devoted to towels, but above my eye level, I could see that there was actually just one towel on each shelf. It had been folded around foam padding to make it seem like there were more.

Bed Bath & Beyond also sells shampoo, conditioner, over-the-counter medication, and other products typical of a drugstore. Prices are about the same as at a drugstore as well, with products like shampoo mostly ranging between $3 and $12.

Right before the registers was a small section of outdoor decor that had furniture, water coolers, pool floats, and other seasonal products. I didn't even realize I had gone through almost the entire store at this point — after a while, all the tall shelves stacked with so many products started feeling like a maze, and I lost track of where I was.

Across from the seasonal gear was an electronics display. It carried products from Amazon, Google, and Phillips, but it was a such a small shelf near the registers that it could have easily gone unnoticed.

There was a ton of smaller merchandise for sale near the registers. Like the return policy, Bed Bath & Beyond is very lenient with its coupon policies, with most locations allowing customers to use multiple coupons at once, use expired coupons, and use coupons on already-discounted items. It also price-matches competitors. Although the store was generally overwhelming, it wasn't nearly as cluttered or messy as it's painted to be.

Bed Bath & Beyond's stores have been slammed as 'devoid of inspiration' and 'a mess' — here's what it's like to shop there (BBBY)

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