Apple will reopen around 100 retail stores in the U.S. by the end of the week. The Rand confirmed
Apple’s active retail locations in the country are spread across 130 out of 271 in 21 states. The company is gradually reopening each location, so some stores only support roadside pickup, while others enable in-store service and sales.
The states that will soon have active Apple Stores are: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, the report said.
New York’s only store that will reopen will be the Victor location outside of Rochester, New York. Additional state stores – including those in New York City – will reopen later.
“This week we will again serve customers at many locations in the United States. For customer security and convenience reasons, most stores only offer a roadside or in-store service where we offer online pick-up of orders and appointments at the Genius Bar, ”Apple said in a statement to Der Rand.
“Others are open to walk-in customers, and we encourage everyone to check their local business website for more information on opening hours at their preferred location. Customers can also visit apple.com for phone or chat support. We strive to re-open our stores in a very thoughtful way, with the health and safety of our customers and teams a top priority, and look forward to seeing our customers again soon. ”
More than half of Apple’s 510 retail stores worldwide are located in the United States. However, most locations have been closed since March due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The company has already resumed retailing in some countries where emergency shelter orders have been eased or canceled.
This includes stores in Alabama, Alaska, Idaho and South Carolina that were part of the first wave of the Apple Store reopening that began in early May. Apple has slowly reopened its stores worldwide, starting with its 42 locations in mainland China, as countries eased blocking measures.
So far, Apple has focused less on selling products in its physical stores to walk-in customers than on reopening the Genius Bar for service requests and repairs. The company had to shut down its on-site repair operations in March as part of its larger store closures, which meant that some customers had to wait to pick up products that were locked or that couldn’t be easily repaired and returned by mail.
With the reopening of stores, Apple can now let customers come back to pick up devices, either by roadside pickup or by in-store service, depending on location.
Retail boss Deirdre O’Brien published a blog post earlier this month explaining Apple’s social distancing strategy in its stores and other security measures to protect customers and employees. “All of our teams and customers need facewear that we provide to customers who don’t bring their own.
Temperature checks are done on the door and health issues are checked for people with symptoms such as cough or fever, or people who have recently been exposed to a person infected with COVID-19, ”wrote O’Brien. Additional measures include improved deep cleaning of all surfaces, display products and other high-traffic areas.
“We also took the time to consider how we can serve our customers’ needs more effectively, whether online or at our stores,” continued O’Brien. “For many shops, this means that they are picked up and dropped off at the side of the road. If you want to shop online, we can deliver to your home or provide your new items for convenient pickup at our stores. “
