Walmart Joins Other Retailers in Requiring Masks for U.S. Shoppers

Walmart and Sam's Club to require masks nationwide starting July 20

'Health Ambassadors' placed at store entrance could setup potential confrontations

Walmart Inc. will require customers to wear masks in all of its U.S. stores to protect against the coronavirus, an admission that the nation’s pandemic has reached new heights and setting up potential confrontations with customers who refuse to don them.

The measure will go into effect starting July 20, U.S. Chief Operating Officer Dacona Smith said in a corporate blog post Wednesday. The retailer will place employees, dubbed “Health Ambassadors,” near the entrance to “remind those without a mask of the new requirements,” it said. Stores will have a single entrance. Walmart already demands that its workers wear masks and shoppers had been encouraged to do so with signage.

“While we’re certainly not the first business to require face coverings, we know this is a simple step everyone can take for their safety and the safety of others in our facilities,” Smith said in the announcement. The requirement also applies to Sam’s Club, Walmart’s membership-based warehouse retail division.

Most major retailers and drugstore chains require masks in places where state or local governments say they are mandatory, and about two-thirds of Walmart’s stores are located in areas with some mask mandate. But few have made it a nationwide policy, perhaps fearful of wading into what’s become a bitter political issue that has led to violent, even fatal, confrontations between retail workers and customers who refuse to cover their face. bloomberg.com

NRF hopes Walmart's announcement is a tipping point
NRF calls on retailers to set nationwide mask policy
The National Retail Federation issued the following statement encouraging all retailers to adopt a nationwide policy that requires customers to wear face coverings or masks to protect the health and well-being of customers, associates and partners during the coronavirus pandemic:

The health and safety of associates and customers is retailers' number one priority and wearing a face covering or mask is scientifically proven to reduce the spread of COVID-19. NRF applauds the leadership of companies like Walmart, Starbucks, Best Buy, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Apple, Qurate Retail Group, Costco and others that have implemented nationwide mask mandates.

We hope today’s announcement by Walmart – the world’s largest retailer – that it will be enforcing a policy requiring customers to wear a mask to shop in their stores is a tipping point in this public health debate. Workers serving customers should not have to make a critical decision as to whether they should risk exposure to infection or lose their jobs because a minority of people refuse to wear masks in order to help stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

As noted in a letter we co-signed with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and other industry groups that was sent to President Trump, Vice President Pence and governors across the country two weeks ago, it is critically important that we have a national mask standard implemented locally. Retailers are protecting the health and safety of communities they serve. Our elected leaders need to set politics aside and follow their example. nrf.com

   Best Buy to start requiring shoppers wear masks in stores nationwide July 15

   Starbucks to require customers to wear face masks starting July 15

Enforcing Rules Have Violent Consequences For Private Security
Police and sheriffs across the country have said they will not intervene with violations of people not wearing a face covering. Some officials cited a lack of staffing, while others argued the language of executive orders either made it difficult to police or infringed on constitutional rights.

Meanwhile, many retailers and restaurants have now begun to strictly enforce the requirement of face masks for customers and staff. From the beginning, this has led to violent encounters between private security officers trying to enforce the rules and customers who neither recognize the authority of a security officer or just flat out won’t comply with the rules.

Two private security officers have been shot to death enforcing the rules and a third one was arrested for murder on July 9th after he shot and killed a customer who refused to comply with the mask rule.

Additionally, sixteen security officers have been violently attacked including a Walmart security guard who was knocked unconscious, a Target security officer who received a broken arm escorting a non-compliant customer out of the store and a security officer in who was stabbed after confronting a person who was not wearing a face covering.

"While security officers often do enforce property rules at malls, apartments and schools with little negative response or abuse, the face mask situation is a hot topic because many really do believe that it’s an infringement on their rights," said Rick McCann, founder and CEO of Private Officer International, a private security and law enforcement association and a law enforcement officer himself.

"Security officers have taken a lot of heat, abuse and pushback on this issue and they have been put into a position of danger because of it and I’m afraid, that more violence involving Coronavirus rules and security officers can be expected," McCann said. privateofficer.com

Coronavirus could push back-to-school spending to record level as uncertain families gear up for at-home learning
Consumers tentatively plan to spend a record amount to prepare students for school and college this year as they buy more laptops and computer accessories in anticipation that at least some classes will take place online because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. nrf.com

22 States Now on Tri-State Quarantine List for NY/NJ/CT as Cuomo Ups Ante

For fourth time in 8 days, U.S. breaks record for new virus cases

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announces he has tested positive for coronavirus

CDC says U.S. could get coronavirus under control in one to two months if everyone wears a mask

Jumbled Covid-19 Border Rules Baffle Companies, Stymie Tourism

Most air conditioning systems don't protect against the coronavirus. In some cases, they can actually facilitate spread
 

Racial Profiling in Retail

Social Media Impact
Nike employees are sharing their experiences with racism at the company via an anonymous Instagram page - and its part of a growing trend on social media
As major companies confront their internal diversity problems head-on, a new Instagram account is highlighting current and former employees' experiences with racism at Nike.

The account, called "Black at Nike," has gained over 8,800 followers since its first post on June 24. According to its description, the page's goal is to amplify "Black voices from current and former Nike employees" by encouraging people to submit their stories via an anonymous Google form. Anonymous posts on the page currently total over 70 and include stories from a range of Nike employees across the company's retail and corporate divisions.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Nike spokesperson said all employees are expected to follow the company's Matter of Respect policy that prohibits discrimination based on race, and added that employees can use the company's Speak Up portal to report any issues, which they can do anonymously.

In the last few months, Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour have all acknowledged their part in maintaining a workplace lacking in diversity and inclusion.

"Black at Nike" is one of many similar pages to appear on Instagram in the last few weeks. "Black at Amazon," "LGBT at Nike," and "Black at NYU Law," all appear to operate similarly, collecting stories of discrimination through anonymous forms. businessinsider.com

Sephora Fully Commits to Combatting Racial Bias Within the Beauty Industry
“While all groups report experiencing unfair treatment in retail settings, it is a pernicious problem that Blacks in particular face. In fact, nearly two-thirds of Blacks surveyed in a 2018 Gallup Social Audit perceive that Black shoppers are treated unfairly while shopping. When asked about the contexts that they encounter unfair treatment, Blacks have consistently indicated that they encounter unfair treatment due to their race at higher rates while shopping than any other context, even when compared to interactions with the police and while at work,” explains Dr. Cassi Pittman Claytor, an African-American Harvard-trained sociologist whose work primarily examines questions of racial inequality.

Recently, many brands have extended verbal support to the African-American community as they learn more of the systemic racism that Blacks endure. But what our community truly needs is actionable allyship that will affect real change. A few corporations, including Sephora, have addressed this and have pulled up. The beauty behemoth has formed its own group of equity advisors and equity partners, which comprises of advocates, thought-leaders and strategists on race and culture such as, April Reign (one of the founders of #OscarsSoWhite movement) and Leah Daughtry (a pastor of The House of the Lord Church in Washington, DC , and former Chief Executive Officer of the Democratic National Convention Committee) to help offer valuable insight and guide the beauty behemoth on its journey to transform the landscape. It also commissioned a retail bias study to help shape its actions in countering discrimination and fostering equality and racism in retail.

EBONY chatted with Sephora’s Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Yeh on what the company is doing to pull up and make real change in the beauty and retail industry. ebony.com

Costco Bans Employees From Wearing Black Lives Matter Face Masks

Staff and customers boycott Massachusetts Whole Foods over ban on wearing BLM masks in store as protest reaches day 21

Consumers Want Brands to Respond to BLM by Hiring and Promoting More People of Color

 

Protests & Violence

Cuomo blasts AOC for saying some people 'need to shoplift' to pay rent
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is not pleased with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s claim that shoplifting is a necessity for citizens looking to pay rent. The intra-party strife between the Democrats stems from recent comments by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez regarding the correlation between slashed law enforcement budgets, the coronavirus pandemic, and rising crime in The Big Apple.

“Maybe this has to do with the fact that people aren’t paying their rent,” the congresswoman said over the weekend. “[They’re] scared to pay their rent. So they go out and they need to feed their child and they don’t have money so … they feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry.”

Mr. Cuomo bristled at the theory. “It is factually impossible that somebody committed a crime so they could pay their rent,” Mr. Cuomo told reporters. “If you can’t pay your rent, you cannot be evicted right now.” washingtontimes.com

NYC protesters call for more policing amid rise in gun violence across the city
The Black Lives Matter movement is getting all the attention, but on the ground - in the neighborhoods plagued with gun violence, there are many who want more police officers on the streets - not less. They say yes to reform, and no to defunding police. After endless bloodshed, that message is now starting to break through - and some say City Hall isn't listening. abc7ny.com

NYPD officials attacked, bloodied at Brooklyn Bridge police-brutality protests

Protests in Portland now in its 6th week
Riot declared, arrests made on 46th night of Portland protests

Security for Minneapolis Council members who called to defund police totals $152K

Allentown, PA: Police investigating after video shows officer putting his knee on man's neck

New York: 5 Defendants Arrested In 4 Separate Cases Involving Arsons And An Assault During May 30th Protests In Rochester And Buffalo

Seattle: Man charged with arson for setting fire to Seattle’s East Police Precinct during Capitol Hill Protest
 

Amazon Go Just Became 'Dash' - Appropriate Name
Did Amazon just put its Go technology in a shopping cart?
Amazon.com is rolling out a new smart shopping cart — Amazon Dash Cart — that will eliminate the need for customers to stop at registers in order to check out of a store.

Similar in some ways to the Just Walk Out technology used in Amazon’s Go convenience format, Dash Cart is designed for small-to-medium sized grocery trips of up to two bags. It uses computer vision algorithms and sensor fusion to identify items placed by shoppers in the cart. When shoppers are ready to check out of the store, they exit through a marked Dash Cart lane where sensors identify the cart and payment is processed using the credit card they use on the Amazon site.

“We’ve taken some of the core technology as well as our learnings from Just Walk Out technology and applied them to the Amazon Dash Cart where possible,” an Amazon spokesperson told RetailWire in an email. “A good example is how we’ve used some of our sophisticated computer vision algorithms that we’ve advanced over time with Amazon Go and Just Walk Out technology. That said, the Dash Cart presents some entirely new innovations both on computer vision and weight algorithms not used in Amazon Go or with Just Walk Out technology.”

Dash Cart will make its debut at the new Amazon grocery store format the company is opening in Woodland Hills, CA, later this year. The spokesperson described it as “a great opportunity to pair a new innovation with a new store format” before adding, “we’re excited to hear feedback from customers.” retailwire.com

Reaching a Fever Pitch?
Store Closures, Bankruptcies, and Liquidations Picking Up Momentum
Right now just making it through summer will be the key for dozens of retailers. With the big decisions coming when faced with calling employees back from furloughs across the nation. Will it even be worth it?

Like Penney's just said this week in bankruptcy court when asking for more time - Push us now and our answer is what no one wants to hear.

Everybody knows where we're at - and everyone just needs time.

Certainly the administration is trying to speed it up at any cost. Regardless of the consequences. And the media may not be helping matters. Just an observation, Gus Downing

UK Job Cuts & Closures
-Halfords eyes 60 closures
-DFS Cutting Jobs
-Burberry to cut 500 jobs

PVH to close Heritage Brands stores, cut 450 jobs

Neiman Marcus may close 4 stores for good

The Paper Store files for Ch. 11, plans to sell itself

Apple wins tax battle with EU as court annuls 2016 order to pay $15 billion in taxes

 

Call for Proposals for RILA's AP Conference is Open Now Through August 21, 2020

Shape the retail industry's most exciting and innovative asset protection event! RILA's Retail Asset Protection Conference is where top executives come to learn, network, and find solutions to their pressing issues. This is your chance to get involved and share your latest learnings, out-of-the-box strategies, new initiatives, and outstanding case studies with the AP community. It's time to submit your session proposal!

The Retail Asset Protection Conference is the annual gathering of the AP community after a year of exploration and new challenges. We can't do it without you! The AP Steering Committee is looking for proposals with fresh content, actionable takeaways, and real insights. If you or someone from your company has new and exciting initiatives, unique viewpoints or creative approaches—we want to hear from you!

Submit your session proposal

Security Devices for the Retail Industry

Detex offers the broadest line of life safety and security door hardware designed to meet the durability and performance requirements of the retail industry - without compromise. We offer solutions for every life safety and security door, with more options for specific applications.

Whether your business is a group of big box stores or a single fashion outlet, life safety and security door hardware is a necessity. Not just for back doors, Detex door hardware is engineered precisely for certain retail situations, but also provides choices for a wide range of functions and costs. Our retail customers are often surprised to learn that we can supply most of their hardware needs.