Best Buy, Macy’s and Chico’s plans to reopen in the United States
Following the announcement of President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan to reopen the economy in the US, many stores are preparing their strategies to keep everyone safe.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses United States to close down, with restrictions in place to attempt to stop the spread of the virus. The effects have been dramatic, costing millions of Americans their jobs, forcing them to file for unemployment and causing untold economic hardship. In response President Donald Trump signed the CARES bill, including a $1,200 stimulus payment for many Americans, but he is also desperate to reopen the economy to allow people to get back to work.
31 of the 50 states are preparing to reopen their economies and end the quarantine period but the idea is to maintain the social distance guidelines and ensure everyone wears a mask at all times in public places.
Businesses such as Best Buy, Macy’s and Chico’s have announced strategies to reopen their stores and give every customer one-on-one service. For example, Best Buy is implementing a new appointment system that will offer customers one-on-one service rather than opening the doors to all customers as shops did before the pandemic.
Best Buy
They have been open since 1 May but as mentioned before customers need to make an appointment and they will be getting something akin to VIP treatment. Best Buy announced that they have opened 200 locations across the country.
Customers will be greeted at the door for their appointment, introduced to the sales associate they’ll be working with, and items and surfaces will be cleaned during the sales process. During these consultations, staff must wear gloves and masks, social distancing guidelines must be adhered to, an employee app will be available for daily self-health checks, and areas of the store will be sanitized before and after each appointment.
Macy’s
Macy’s will reopen dozens of stores on 4 Monday as states begin easing coronavirus lockdowns, according to news reports, and the retail chain said it expects to have its entire fleet operating in six weeks.
Chief executive Jeff Gennette told The Wall Street Journal that 68 stores will be in the first wave, making it the first major retailer to announce its comeback plan. The move comes as Simon Property Group, the nation’s biggest mall owner, prepares to reopen 49 shopping centers this weekend in states easing restrictions, including Georgia and South Carolina.
Macy’s also will offer “no-touch consultations” on such products as makeup and jewelry. It will also be operating on reduced hours. “We don’t know how consumers will respond,” Gennette told The Journal, adding that he expects the stores that come back first to do less than a 20% of their normal sales volume at first.
Chico’s
Chico's have decided to do a three-phase plan to reopen their stores in the United States. The first-phase started In mid-March, the company rolled out new devices to store management equipped with proprietary digital styling software, which has allowed the retailer to communicate with the majority of its customers to drive more sales online. The reopening strategy will begin with the fulfillment of national orders using store inventories.
In the second phase, the retailer will introduce an option to buy merchandise online and pick it up in the store, which will include contactless curbside pickup. The third phase will introduce a new shop-by-appointment service for all of its store brands, Chico's, Chico's Off the Rack, White House Black Market, White House Black Market Outlet, and Soma.