Shopping reinvented: America's stores, malls reopen with masks, curbside pickup and closed fitting rooms
Dalvin Brown, Kelly Tyko / USA TODAY
Malls and stores that have been off-limits for shoppers with all of the stay-at-home orders are opening the door to a brand-new shopping experience vastly different from what we all knew when most closed in mid-March.
Welcome to a new phase of COVID-19 pandemic shopping where there are fewer places to lounge for a break or a bite, trying on clothes gets complicated and planning a strategy is required before going where families spent their Saturdays, teens experienced first dates and friends roamed for hours on end.
The overall experience will not be as seamless as it used to be.
In most cases, you can't simply walk in without store or mall employees giving a thumbs up as they adhere to new capacity limitations. You may need to wait in line to enter and could be turned away from some stores if you're not wearing a mask.
For those who venture out first, there's a payoff: Discounts.
Retailers are sitting on mounds of inventory to get rid of after being closed for months.
"In apparel, the price for consumers will actually fall," said Neil Saunders, managing director of the retail consultancy GlobalData. "They will have a lot more discounts and a lot more bargains."
As malls across the nation get back to business, here's how the retail landscape has changed and how people will shop.
Shopping by appointment
One of the shopping innovations seeing a rise in the wake of COVID-19 is virtual appointments. The online setups allow you to carve out a time to shop in advance or connect with brands remotely.
David's Bridal launched a virtual stylist and online appointment experienceto help with wedding plans. On May 6, Suitsupply introducedguided virtual shopping. And in April, the makeup company Glossier launched a video chat function that supports one-on-one consultations.
"Some customers may be anxious about a brick-and-mortar experience," said Bill Luth, executive vice president of store operations at Signet Jewelers, whose 3,000 stores including Kay Jewelers, Zales and Jared have begun rolling out video appointments. "We spent time elevating our digital journey so when our customers start shopping our brands, they can do it in a modern and compelling way."
But there are in-person appointments and waitlists, too. Some stores at Taubman Center malls are letting shoppers join virtual waitlists via an app and maybe wait in the car or away from the crowd. Shoppers then get a push notification when it's time to come in.
"They're scrambling to find ways to reopen and to do a better job managing the number of shoppers in the stores," said OpenTable CEO Steve Hafner.
In late March, the company announced an expansion of its software to let users choose betweenavailable shopping time slots at supermarkets and retailers, the way you would make a restaurant reservation on the app.
The Container Store and Best Buy are welcoming shoppers back to reopening stores by appointment only.
"We've started by scheduling one customer in the store at a time and gradually depending upon local and state government, we've opened that up," Container Store CEO Melissa Reiff told USA TODAY.
In addition to offering shopping by appointment and virtual waitlists via app among other new features, Westfield Shopping Centers will give customers a look at real-time shopper activity so you can plan a shopping trip based on the current crowds.
How will retail workers serve you?
Once you make it inside the store, you'll notice what retailers are focusing on: "The new brand commitment is going to be health and safety," said Matt Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation.
Those reminder signs, plexiglass dividers and social distancing markers taped on the floor at stores like Walmart, Target and Whole Foods will also be in mall stores.
Apple, Macy's, Kohl's, Old Navy, Ulta Beauty and Nordstrom are among the many retailers who have announced their employees will be required to wear face coverings. Some retail employees will also be required to wear gloves.
Shoppers will also be asked to wear masks in some cases.Apple, likeCostco, mandates it if you want to enter the store.
What about trying clothes on?
Clothing stores are the top choice among consumers looking to spend, according to a recent study by the retail analytics firmFirst Insight. But people aren't as eager to try on clothes – which is fine because retailers are limiting the practice anyway.
Sixty-five percent of women and 54% of men said they will not feel safe trying on clothes in dressing rooms during the pandemic, the survey found.
Companies including Target, Kohl's, T.J. Maxx and Ross have closed fitting rooms altogether.
"We just feel like it's an extra step so people are assured that we're taking all the precautions," Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass said in an interview with USA TODAY, adding that employees remind shoppers of Kohl's "very generous" 180-day return policy.
Meanwhile, household names like Macy's, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue are keeping fitting rooms open, but there will be fewer available as workers have to clean them between use.
Items tried on and not purchased will be kept off the floor for at least 24 hours, depending on the retailer.
In some cases, bra fittings and alterations at many stores have been suspended as have beauty makeovers. At cosmetic counters, product testers are now for display only and testing makeup with virtual apps is encouraged at Sephora and Ulta Beauty.
Augmented reality smart mirrors and virtual testing are expected to be in wider use.
Many stores that were closed haveextended and adjusted return periods and policies.
Some stores including Costco still are not accepting returns of select items like toilet paper, cleaning products and bottled water. Target suspended returns between March 26 and April 26 but is currently accepting returns again with a couple of changes.
Returned items with hard surfaces, like board games, are cleaned and wiped down before going on the sales floor, Target officials told USA TODAY, while apparel items are placed in quarantine for three days from the date of return.
Old Navy also is holding returns in a separate area before being made available for sale again, company President Nancy Green said.
And Kohl's stores, which have been acceptingAmazon returns since last summer, will direct shoppers in a separate part of the store to help with social distancing.
Ordering online and picking up your purchase outside the store is nothing new for some retailers. Walmart first launched the service in 2017, and Target followed with a pilot the next year.
However, more stores including Signet Jewelers, Kohl's, Macy's and Old Navy are rolling out curbside pickup for the first time as they reopen.
"We knew that curbside pickup was going to be a norm, " said Luth, a Signet Jewelers executive. "Walmart is doing it. Target is doing it and grocery stores are doing it, so it becomes table stakes from a customer experience standpoint."
Some like Best Buy and Dick's Sporting Goods rolled out the service when they temporarily closed stores during the pandemic. Kohl's, Ulta Beauty, Old Navy and Bed Bath & Beyond have added curbside pickup to cater to shoppers not yet ready to walk inside.
Typically, as you're parked in a designated space, an employee wearing a mask will bring out bags with the items you ordered and paid for online and place in the trunk or backseat without exchanging more than pleasantries to limit exposure. At some stores, the employee will scan a barcode from an email or smartphone or check for identification.
"I think it's possible that curbside pickup could be with us forever," said Bill Taubman, chief operating officer for Taubman Centers, "and that will mean that we're going to need to make physical changes to the space in order to accommodate it."