Shopping at Apple stores will be a drastically different experience when the company reopens the more than 500 global locations it closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
So far, nearly 100 Apple stores around the world have reopened with extensive changes, including temperature checks at the door, more frequent deep cleanings and requirements that staff and shoppers wear face coverings. Apple is also limiting the number of people allowed in stores and will begin curbside drop-off and pick-up options at some locations, according to a statement the company released Sunday.
Reopening an Apple store takes planning that depends on multiple factors, said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail and people.
“We look at every available piece of data — including local cases, near and long‑term trends, and guidance from national and local health officials,” she wrote in the statement. “These are not decisions we rush into — and a store opening in no way means that we won’t take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant.”
In China, Apple (AAPL) stores have been “safely open for months,” the company said. All 42 of its China locations were shut down for about a month in February during the peak of the outbreak there.
In the United States, Apple has opened a few stores with shortened hours in accordance with local laws. The first store opened last week in Boise, Idaho. The company has 510 stores worldwide, 271 of which are in the United States.
Apple has reopened one store in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, as well as all stores in Australia and Austria. Stores in Germany also reopened last week.
Shares rose more than 1% in early Monday trading.
