COVID-19 Spikes Elevate Retail Concerns – WWD
Heading into the new year, rising COVID-19 cases — exacerbating the nation’s labor shortage — have shrouded the retail industry in uncertainty.
While the global spike in COVID-19 cases has not triggered widespread store lockdowns, traffic in stores has slowed and many retailers are implementing lines for social distancing.
Retailers are monitoring the health crisis closer than ever and stepping up health protocols. The rapid rise of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in December has changed the landscape, though retailers are better prepared now to manage through the health crisis than they were in 2020, having successfully operated with COVID-19-related health and safety protocols.
Apple temporarily shut several stores around the country Monday, however on Tuesday quickly reopened its Manhattan stores. A call to the Fifth Avenue flagship indicated through an automated response that it had new hours, from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. for Tuesday through Friday, which is New Year’s Eve.
“Apple was among the first to shut down last March 2020 and was the longest to wait before reopening all of its U.S. fleet; even then some international locations were still closed into 2021,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, the research and consulting firm.
“The one thing we have seen is that some luxe doors are tighter on limiting entry, e.g. Louis Vuitton, Gucci, limiting to no more customers at one time than the number of employees, but some were doing this prior to Omicron.”
In the teen sector, Johnson added, “American Eagle Outfitters was similarly limiting entry in many stores based on local conditions but tied as much to holiday capacity controls as much as COVID-19.”
“More broadly, nobody else we know was closing due to Omicron, but once we get past the ‘second season,’ we think some other stores in hard-hit areas could temporarily close in January and early February, normally the slowest time for most retailers outside of home and home improvement [sectors],” said Johnson. The second season consists of the days between Christmas and New Year’s and tends to be a strong week for stores, which typically see high levels of traffic due to consumers redeeming gift cards and making returns. Retailers also begin displaying spring merchandise and hope to capture additional full-price sales that way, while unleashing steeper markdowns on fall/winter and holiday merchandise.
“While we have no major updates to announce at this time, there are a number of things we’ve done throughout the pandemic, and continue to do amid the rise of variants, to keep our team safe,” a Target spokeswoman told WWD on Tuesday.
Target continues to ask team members to do a full health screening before coming to work each day and encourages its employees and shoppers to get vaccinated, including booster shots, the spokeswoman said.
“We offer vaccine appointments at nearly all CVS at Target locations and provide paid time and free Lyft rides to team members when they get their vaccines and boosters,” the spokesperson said.
Based on the CDC’s guidance, Target requires face coverings for all team members and “strongly recommends” face coverings for shoppers, which Target refers to as “guests,” in areas with substantial or high risk of transmission, as defined by the CDC.
Black Friday shopping by Bloomingdale’s in SoHo.
Masato Onoda for WWD
“We will continue to recommend face coverings for unvaccinated team members and guests, unless required by a state or local mandate. We provide team members with reusable and disposable face masks to wear at work and encourage healthy hygiene habits, as recommended by the CDC.”
According to the spokesperson, Target has increased cleaning measures and social distancing and regularly restocks at-home COVID-19 tests. Target also provides contactless in-store payment, drive-through order pickups and same-day deliveries via its partnership with Shipt.
At the Neiman Marcus Group, “While we don’t have plans to temporarily close stores at this time, we will continue to maintain our focus and will remain ready to react and adjust as needed in order to ensure the safety of our customers, associates and brand partners,” a spokesperson said.
“There is no higher priority than the safety and well-being of our customers, associates and brand partners. We’ve taken several steps throughout the pandemic in support of our customers, associates and brand partners, including increased safety and enhanced cleanliness measures in our stores. We have been actively monitoring updates from the CDC and other health experts to adjust our policies during the pandemic,” the NMG spokesperson said.
Macy’s Inc. said in a statement, “We do not have any COVID-19-related store closures to announce at this time. Presently, all stores are open. The health and safety of our colleagues and customers remain top of mind for us. We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to follow CDC and jurisdictional guidelines.”
Nordstrom Inc. indicated it has no plans to close any stores at this time.
At Gap Inc., a spokesperson said, “We haven’t heard of any store employee shortages due to the spike of COVID-19.”
CVS Health also has no plans to close stores due to the increase in cases, a company spokesperson said Tuesday. The retailer is not planning any changes to preventative protocols at this time either.
As of July 31, all CVS employees have been required up wear a face mask or covering in all work sites, including its stores and pharmacies, regardless of vaccine status until further notice, the spokesperson said. All customers in any CVS store are also encouraged to wear a face mask or covering, regardless of their vaccine status. “More stringent cleaning protocols in keeping with the recommendations from the CDC have also been in place since the start of the pandemic,” the spokesperson said. With 9,900 stores nationwide, CVS announced last month plans to close 900 stores over the next three years. The first of 300 store closures that are slated to be shuttered next year will get underway next spring.
Rosemary Feitelberg contributed reporting to this story.
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