Many US Apple Stores are starting to shift to Express storefront pickup service to help protect its customers from COVID-19 infection.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused more than just a health crisis. It also forced many companies to implement major changes to adapt to the new normal. One example is Apple Stores in the US. They are now making the big shift towards Express storefront pickup service to ensure better health protection towards its customers against the COVID-19 scare. As Apple Stores adapt to the coming holidays amid the coronavirus pandemic, it is also making some adjustments on how to serve the customers better without compromising the safety of their health.
After the Black Friday and Cyber Monday spree, almost 50% of all Apple Stores located in the US have added Express storefront pickup services. According to Apple, this service is the company's temporary remedy that will allow them to serve customers efficiently and safely. Apple said that this change is necessary amid the unique situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cupertino-based tech giant said that Express storefront pickup services are most important in places where in-person store sales and support are not safe because of COVID-19 conditions in that locality.
Deirdre O'Brien, Apple Senior Vice-President (SVP), said that as many as 50 Apple Store locations around the world added Express storefronts ahead of the company's launch of its iPhone 12 family. Worsening infection rates also forced the company to implement some changes gradually on 125 of its 270 US Apple Stores and to retrofit them so they could also have an Express storefronts pickup service. She also revealed that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, twelve of their Express locations in the US have temporarily shut their doors.
Nearly half of US Apple Stores have switched to Express storefront pickup. pic.twitter.com/P8mAismSJu — MICHΛΞL NGUYΞN (@MacMike1000) November 30, 2020
Outside of the US, Apple Stores in France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and Switzerland also replaced their walk-in shopping with Express storefront pickup services. Reports say that 15 of the 20 Apple stores in France, nine in Italy, and at least eight in Spain already implemented the necessary changes. In the UK, almost all of the Apple Stores in that country are now limited to online ordering and Express storefront pickup service. These areas are among the worst-hit countries in the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Express storefront pickup service locations usually have shielded pickup windows, with shelves that separate the entrance of the store from its main sales section, Apple did not implement the same setup in several stores. Instead, Apple personnel would deliver orders at the door for customers to pick up. In California, three Apple Stores offer customers a curbside pickup, a new service model that allowed the Cupertino tech giant to reopen many of its stores amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For Apple Stores locations found within malls, Apple used parking lots as remote pickup locations.
