Fitting Rooms To Remain Closed & Returned Goods Quarantine

Aside from Kohl’s, Gap will also be closing all fitting rooms and restrooms when it reopens more than 800 stores this month, as will Urban Outfitters and Target. Nordstrom will close most fitting rooms, but will leave a few open — two or three, depending on the store.

For the retailers who are keeping fitting rooms open, like Saks Fifth Avenue, clothes that are tried on are being cleaned and taken off the sales floor for 24 hours before being put back on display

The variance in how brands are treating fitting rooms comes from the fact that, while most states in the U.S. have guidelines on whether stores can reopen and how they should clean, there are few guidelines on how brands should deal with the handling of product by so many people.

Here's the list of various in-store safety initiatives retailers are using or have installed:
 

Abercrombie & Fitch

On May 6, Abercrombie & Fitch announced it had started opening locations “where regulations allow” globally. Stores are opening “on a rolling basis” and will continue to do so going forward. Reopened stores will enforce social distancing and provide contactless payment options. Stores were temporarily closed on March 15.

It wasn’t immediately clear how reopenings would impact furloughed employees. The retailer did say associates at reopened stores would use personal protective equipment.
 

Amazon (Whole Foods)

On April 30, Amazon announced that Whole Foods would be asking customers to wear face masks inside its stores, and provide disposable ones if customers do not have their own.

Other safety precautions:

• Set aside the first hour of grocery pickup at Whole Foods stores nationwide for vulnerable customers.

• Distributed personal protective gear and masks to employees

• Implemented health processes and temperature checks

• Employees diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive up to two weeks paid time off.
 

Apple

More than 80 percent of Apple’s 510 stores worldwide remain closed, but the company plans to reopen 25 more stores in the US, 12 in Canada, and 10 in Italy over the next week.

Apple’s head of retail Deidre O’Brien says temperature checks will be conducted and all staff and customers will be required to wear face coverings. Apple will provide coverings to customers who don’t have their own, and will enforce social distancing rules with a limited number of people in the store at once. “In every store, we’re focused on limiting occupancy and giving everybody lots of room, and renewing our focus on one‑on‑one, personalized service at the Genius Bar and throughout the store,” O’Brien writes.
 

Bed Bath & Beyond

Bed Bath & Beyond is beginning to welcome customers back into stores and are extending curbside pickup to most areas. As they do, they will follow the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and state and local authorities, including the following precautions:

• Associates in our stores and distribution centers maintain a 6-foot distance at all times.

• Associates are provided with masks, gloves, and sanitizers; register barriers are in place.

• All stores follow rigorous cleaning procedures recommended by the CDC.

• Measures include self-check procedures and health reviews.

• Cart wipes and hand sanitizer will be available, and sneeze guards at registers.

• To make social distancing easier, we will limit the number of people in stores.

• Early shopping hours for customers over 60 and those at risk.

• We’ll continue to offer contactless, curbside pickup.
 

Best Buy

Best Buy said it planned to reopen stores gradually in May.

Customers will be able to make appointments for in-store consultations at about 200 US Best Buy stores. The company will also offer curbside pickup at its stores.

Here's how the appointment system works:

• Customers can schedule an appointment online, over the phone, on the Best Buy app, or through the live-chat function.
Before they arrive, customers will receive confirmation and reminders about their visit.

• A Best Buy employee will call shoppers ahead of time to go over safety measures and discuss what they might be looking for at the store.

• At the time of the appointment, shoppers should go to the store entrance, where a host will check them in and introduce them to the sales associate who will be helping them.

• The associate will shop with the customer, following navigation and safety guidelines provided by signs and stickers on the floor.

• If a customer wants to demo a product, the worker will wipe the product down with disinfectant, let the customer handle it, and then wipe it down again afterward.

• When making a purchase, the customer will be taken to the front register, where there will be sneeze guards. The credit-card machine and screen will be wiped down after each use.

• A Best Buy employee will escort customers outside the store when they have completed their purchase.
 

BJ's

BJ's has taken various safety precautions to protect associates and customers, including:

• Updated shopping hours for members 60 and over to between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.

• Limits on how many members could be in a store at any given time (no more than 20% of a club’s total capacity will be allowed to enter a store at a time)

• Signage throughout stores and runs audio announcements to encourage social distancing

• Assigning employees to enforce social distancing in checkout lines

• Temperature checks to all employees in the coming weeks; employees with an “elevated temperature” will be asked to go home

• Provide masks and gloves to associates “as supplies permit.”
 

Costco

Effective May 4, “most” U.S. Costco stores will return to regular operating hours with various safety precautions:

• Require shoppers to wear a face covering that covers their mouth and nose while in store

• Senior shopping hours will be available at certain stores from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays, with a few exceptions

• Previously the company stated that, effective April 3, no more than two people would be able to enter the store with each membership card 
 

Dick's Sporting Goods

As of May 5, a notice on the retailer’s website said it was reopening stores in some areas of the country.

Some of the safety precautions Dick's is implementing include:

• Enforcing social distancing protocols

• Installing sneeze guards

• Offering curbside pickup

• Having designated shopping hours for at-risk customers

• Requiring employees to wear face coverings 
 

DSW

DSW announced it will implement sterilization procedures and safety measures as it starts to re-open almost 200 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

There are also several new procedures in-store, including “contact-free” shopping by limiting transactions to credit, debit or gift cards only, designating special shopping hours for senior citizens and other at-risk customers, and designating merchandise try-on areas. Other initiatives in place include:

• Providing ongoing training for associates regarding store cleanliness and customer interaction;

• Monitoring associates’ temperature as they arrive for work;

• Posting associates at store entrances to monitor customer entry and exit to minimize traffic in stores;

• Installing sanitation stations at the front of the stores, including hand sanitizer and gloves for customers;

• Posting storewide reminders to remain six feet from others and directional signage limiting traffic flow within the aisles to one way;

• Adding health shields at registers and wiping down between customer interactions at registers; and

• Implementing a process for sanitizing merchandise, and a separate protocol for sanitizing returned merchandise.

More information is available here. 
 

Gap

Gap said Wednesday it planned to reopen up to 800 of its Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, Banana Republic, Janie and Jack, and Intermix stores before the end of May.

In the reopened stores, Gap will:

•  Implement new cleaning routines and install hand-sanitizer stations at front doors and cash wraps.
Close fitting rooms temporarily.

•  Install plexiglass guards at registers.

• Post signage reminding customers to follow social-distancing guidelines.

• Reduce store hours and actively monitor "the flow of customers in stores."

• Temporarily close restrooms and quarantine returns for 24 hours before returning them to the sales floor​.

• Supply employees with face masks and encourage customers to wear face coverings while shopping.
 

Holt Renfrew (Canada)

Luxury multi-brand retailer Holt Renfrew has a game plan to reopen its stores across the country after all were shut in March due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Three of Holt Renfrew’s stores are set to open again this month, including stores in Calgary and Vancouver, as well as the new Holt Renfrew Ogilvy store in Montreal which has been under a multi-year expansion/renovation.

The company’s other stores, all located in the Greater Toronto Area, will open at a later date which will likely be in June. The openings come at a time when some consumers may pull back on luxury spending as has been seen with other recession periods.

The company has announced plans and protocols to facilitate the store reopenings, including housekeeping, hygiene, in-store circulation, and new services which Holt Renfrew says are part of a strategy for adapting to changing customer behaviours:

• Prior to re-opening, each store will undergo a deep cleaning of all front and back of house areas

• Increased daily sanitizations will occur throughout the day including sanitation of all high touch areas including pay stations, all conveyance, railings, door handles, washrooms, fitting rooms, and more, after each use

• Hygiene protocol will include hand sanitization stations which will be made available throughout the stores including at all entry points

• Employees and customers will be required to sanitize their hands upon entry into Holt Renfrew stores

• All store team members will wear disposable gloves and masks while in the stores, and disposable gloves and masks will be made available for all customers who wish to receive them

• All high touch surfaces, including point of sale, PIN pads, and phones, will be sanitized after each use, as will fitting rooms in the stores

• The in-store beauty halls will become “touchless” and for the foreseeable future

• All of Holt Renfrew’s seven stores will operate on reduced hours once they reopen

• Stores will feature signage indicating a minimum of two metres physical distance for all front of house areas including fitting rooms, payment desks, escalators, elevators and other store components

• In-store elevators will be restricted to only those who require them for assistance

• Employees will be trained on the in-store circulation measures both on the sales floor as well as in the back of house areas
 

Kohl's

Kohl's plans to reopen stores in 14 states by May 11.

The company said it would make the following changes:

• Close fitting rooms and ban the use of beauty testers.

• Shift operating hours to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

• Place signage and floor decals to encourage social distancing.

•  Close additional entrances so stores will operate with a single point of entry.

• Assign an employee to the front of the store to greet customers, sanitize carts between each use, and limit occupancy.

• Require Kohl's employees to wear masks and gloves while in the store.

• Remove in-aisle fixtures to increase space for customers.

• Install protective barriers at registers and offer touchless payment options through Kohl's Pay on the Kohl's App.

• Clean checkout lanes after each customer transaction.

• Make hand sanitizer available at each register and throughout the store for customers.

• Dedicate shopping hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.for at-risk people including seniors, pregnant women, and people with underlying health conditions.

• Require Kohl's employees to participate in mandatory wellness and temperature checks before their shifts.
 

Kroger