AUSTIN, Texas — As retail stores across the state start to reopen, major retailers have started releasing their plans to come back.
Dillard's issued the following statement regarding its Austin-area stores:
"We will open our Barton Creek and Domain stores on Tuesday, May 5, consistent with all protocols. We are accepted returns, as well."
IKEA has not yet released plans to reopen stores in Texas, but issued the following statement:
"All 50 U.S. IKEA stores and our Planning Studio in Manhattan were temporarily closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic effective March 18. The health and safety of our co-workers and customers continues to be and will always be our priority as we evaluate the needs of our business and take actions. At this time, we have not announced any plans to reopen IKEA stores to the public in Texas. We are basing all our decisions on what is best for our co-workers and customers with guidance from state and local authorities and information provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We look forward to welcoming our co-workers and customers once we feel it is safe to reopen."
JCPenney announced it will reopen its Round Rock store Wednesday, May 13, after temporarily closing due to the coronavirus pandemic. The store is located at University Oaks Shopping Center (151 University Oaks, Round Rock, TX 78665).
“We are thrilled to welcome our associates and customers back to JCPenney in Round Rock, and our top priority remains on the health and safety of our associates, customers, and communities,” said Jim DePaul, executive vice president of stores at JCPenney. “We want to ensure everyone is safe and feels comfortable as we continue to provide an engaging shopping experience.”
“We’re taking a strategic approach in reopening our stores nationwide and will continue doing so in a phased approach based on guidance from the CDC and local and state mandates,” Depaul added.
JCPenney is monitoring CDC guidelines to inform its practices, and taking precautions to provide a safe environment in which to shop and work, including the following:
- Contact-free curbside pickup
- Diligent nightly cleaning of the store
- Social distancing procedures in place, with reminders throughout the store
- Contactless checkout
- Masks provided to each associate
- Extended return policy and a longer time window to use customer rewards
- Plexiglass shields at the register
- Associate training on safety practices
- Reduced store hours:
- Monday – Saturday from noon to 7 p.m.
- Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The JCPenney flagship store, jcp.com, remains open to serve shoppers and now features an enhanced user experience. For more information and ongoing updates on store reopenings, visit the Company’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) landing page.
Beginning Monday, May 11, Kohl's will reopen all of its stores in Texas. All Kohl's stores will follow safety practices such as limiting store hours, social distancing measures, evaluating cleaning procedures and having a new return process. To read more about the company's reopening guidelines, click here.
The company released the following statement:
"In preparation for a safe reopening, the company has made significant enhancements to the store environment and staff operations to prioritize the health and safety of Kohl’s customers and associates."
Macy's plans to reopen 68 of its locations on Monday, May 4, but has not released any other information.
While Target remained open, the store has adjusted its return policies to account for COVID-19 and released the following statement:
"Guests who have items with a “return by date” from March 26-April 26, during which we suspended returns, will have until June 15 to return them. Target.com purchases can also be returned by mail using our online return center—sign in to your Target account to get started. New Jersey stores will continue to observe state-ordered return restrictions."
Being considered an essential business, UPS has remained open through the COVID-19 pandemic. UPS issued the following statement:
"The UPS Store and it’s 4,800 locations across the U.S., including multiple locations in Austin, is deemed an essential business under guidance issued by the White House and as defined within the Critical Infrastructure Sectors by the Department of Homeland Security. Mailbox customers may be expecting important health-related shipments. Customers may need help printing, faxing or notarizing important financial or employment documents. Parents and teachers now managing remote learning may need to print lessons and assignments."
Walmart stores have remained open as an essential business throughout the pandemic, but the store released the following statement regarding return policies:
“We are temporarily not processing returns/exchanges in our stores of: food, paper goods, home cleaning supplies, laundry soap, pharmacy, health & beauty and apparel.
If you need to return any item, including those above, and have a receipt, please start your return on the Walmart app or at Walmart.com. It’s easy and may allow you to complete your return without coming to the store.
If you’re not able to return the item online, don’t worry! Once returns reopen for impacted categories, we will be extending the return period by 6 weeks for those items.”
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