AURORA • The new Best Buy store opening Saturday in suburban southeast Denver feels just a little different from the chain's older, warehouse-like blue interiors.

Designed with women customers in mind, skylights let natural light fall on floors carpeted in blue and earth tones. There's wood paneling where gray metal shelving might typically be. And flat-screen televisions and appliances are placed in model rooms that look like they came from a customer's home.

The company asked 40 local female customers to work with employees, beginning last February, on ideas for the new store, said Ginger Sorvari Bucklin, Best Buy Co.'s director of Winning With Women.

With the universal appeal of MP3 players, digital cameras and laptops, women are making and influencing more electronics purchases.

Chains like Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy are trying to make them feel comfortable, without alienating men.

"Best Buy has traditionally served men very well," Bucklin said.

"Best Buy's roots 40 years ago was with high-end audiophiles. Because technology has changed so much, we know women make 45 percent of electronics purchases. This is about serving women better."

Female customers said they wanted to see how products fit into their own lives and what products could work together.

In one display, Apple laptops and iPods are displayed on dark wood cabinets topped with crisp white counters, with accessories like laptop cases in red and green from fashion-forward brands displayed nearby.

One section typically labeled "home theater" in other stores has been labeled "family room" here, because customers pictured home theaters as something for affluent homes.

There's a lower sink for children in the bathroom, lotion near the paper towels and a private room for new mothers, with carpeting, a rocking chair, free diapers and softer lighting.

While costs for this store were higher than typical stores, Best Buy expects to make it back by building long-term loyalty with customers, Bucklin said. She didn't disclose costs.

Many of the changes are subtle and cater to all customers, such as store labels in English and Spanish, or shopping carts shaped like toy cars to cater to kids.

Store general manager Rhonda Cagnolatti said the store will offer gift wrapping during the holiday season because male customers requested it.