How Walmart Will Look Different From Here On Out—Blame It On The Pandemic

With the lockdowns and stay at home orders lifting more and more every day, residents of the US are learning a “new normal” when it comes to those things in life that we took pretty much for granted just a short six months ago. One of those things—our day to day shopping at Walmart.

With the coronavirus pandemic’s introduction into our lives, we have had to learn to readjust our perceptions and how we do everyday chores, including a whole new way to go about our grocery shopping. Walmart is one of the major retailers who has announced several changes to the consumer experience when shopping their stores.

Crowds

Even though most of the nation has been under stay at home orders, and many areas are under full lockdowns, Walmart has still seen day-to-day crowds and foot traffic. However, in the effort to keep both their customers and their employees safe, Walmart is now only allowing five shoppers per 1,000 square feet of shopping space, calculating out to most stores only allowing a customer capacity of only 20 percent at any given time of operation,

No More Twenty-Four

Long gone are the days of running out for those late-night craving fixes and medication needs. To ensure proper cleaning routines, all Walmart stores are now closing at 8:30 pm. , allowing employees to use the overnight hours when the store used to be open, and ensuring a complete cleaning and sanitizing for the following day.

Aisles Both Ways

To somewhat enforce the government-mandated social distancing rules, Walmart is beta testing one-way aisles. With the use of one-way aisles, where two ways used to exist, shoppers will be better able to maintain a healhty and safe distance from one another, preventing accidental contact and the possible spread of the virus through sneezing or coughing.

Masks and Sniffles

Walmart has sent down a mandate that requires all of its employees to don masks or other such face coverings while on the clock. Before entering the store for work each day, employees will also be required to have their temperature checked. If their temperature shows to be above 100 degrees, the employee will be sent home and will be unable to return to work until they have been fever-free for at least three days.

It is believed, by those higher up at Walmart, that by implementing these various precautions that they will provide their employees and shoppers with a much safer shopping environment.

Should all retail stores mandate these types of safety precautions?