Coronavirus: Walmart Limiting Customers Inside Stores

BENTONVILLE, AR — Walmart officials announced Friday the company will now limit the amount of shoppers it allows in stores at one time, a move officials say will help encourage social distancing during the ongoing new coronavirus pandemic.

According to a statement posted on the company's website, stores will now allow no more than five customers for each 1,000 square feet — roughly 20 percent of a store’s capacity — at any given time. To manage the new restrictions, Walmart associates will manage a queue at a single-entry door (in most cases, a store's grocery entrance), where customers will be admitted one-by-one and counted.

Dacona Smith, Walmart executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in the statement that company officials will continue to monitor developments pertaining to the coronavirus outbreak and will "listen to advice from medical experts, associates and customers."

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"The health and safety of our associates and customers is what matters the most," Smith said.

The changes go into effect Saturday. Read the company's full statement at Walmart.com.

Walmart isn't the first retail giant to limit the number of shoppers it allows in stores. Thursday, Minneapolis-based Target announced new restrictions and policies for its stores on Thursday as the company continues operations during the coronavirus crisis. Effective Saturday, Target will monitor and meter guest traffic in its nearly 1,900 stores nationwide to promote social distancing.

On March 14, Walmart announced in a blog post that it would cut back its hours at its 24-hour locations across the United States.

Dacona Smith, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Walmart U.S., wrote on the website:

"To better support our associates and serve our customers, we will adjust our operating hours beginning Sunday, March 15. Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. until further notice. This will help ensure associates are able to stock the products our customers are looking for and to perform cleaning and sanitizing. Stores currently operating under more reduced hours (for example they regularly close at 10 p.m. or open at 7 a.m.) will keep their current hours of operation."

As of Saturday, more than 1 million coronavirus cases are confirmed worldwide and more than 60,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has more than 278,000 cases, the most of any country.