Walmart will require customers to use facial coverage at all of its namesake stores and Sam’s Club, making it the largest retailer to introduce such a policy that has otherwise been difficult to enforce without state and federal requirements.
The company said the policy will take effect on Monday to give stores and customers time to report. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said that currently about 65% of its more than 5,000 stores and clubs are located in areas where there is already some kind of government mandate to cover their faces.
The retailer also said it will create the role of health ambassador at its Walmart stores and locate them near the entrance to remind customers without masks of their new requirements. These workers, who will be wearing black polo shirts, will receive special training to “help make the process as smooth as possible for customers.”
Walmart said the policy will take effect on Monday to give stores and customers time to report.
Walmart joins a growing list of retailers that have instituted mask mandates across all of their chains. Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer, announced Tuesday that it will have a mask mandate for its customers at all of its stores. Starbucks announced last week that customers visiting their company’s owned coffee shops in the US should wear face covers. Both policies went into effect on Wednesday.
The movements occur when new cases of COVID-19 are increasing in many states, particularly in Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas. Retailers have been challenged to strike a balance between keeping shoppers safe and making them feel comfortable.
The ad also follows a shocking video confrontation that was filmed at a Florida Walmart last month, showing an older man making his way through a doorman without wearing a mask.
The retailer also said it will create the role of health ambassador at its Walmart stores and post them near the entrance to remind customers without masks of their new requirements.
The ad also follows a shocking video confrontation that was filmed at a Florida Walmart last month, showing an older man making his way through a doorman without wearing a mask.
Last week, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents Walmart, Best Buy, and other major chains, released a letter it sent to state governors to compel store customers to wear face covers. He said the hodgepodge of rules across the country has created confusion for shoppers and led to conflicts between customers and workers trying to enforce store rules.
The National Governors Association said last week that its members are discussing the letter and similar ones from different retail groups.
Social media is full of videos that capture clashes between those who are asked to wear masks and employees who have orders to make sure people wear them.
According to RILA, less than half of US states require masks in public places. And only a handful of top retailers, including the American Eagle Outfitters teen clothing chain, have a mask mandate for customers at all of their stores. Costco Wholesale Club was one of the first major retailers to require face covers for customers at all of its stores. The policy went into effect in early May.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people cover their mouths and noses when they are around others to help reduce the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
“We know that some people have different opinions on this issue,” Dacona Smith, COO of Walmart US, and Lance de la Rosa, COO of Sam’s Club, wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “We also recognize the role we can play in helping protect the health and well-being of the communities we serve by following the evolving guidance of health officials such as the CDC.”
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