Apple to Reopen Stores in US Starting Next Monday in A Few US States

Next week, Apple will start reopening Apple Retail Stores in the United States. The first locations to reopen in the US include stores in Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama, and Alaska. Safety measures depict temperature screenings, social distancing, face masks, and carrying capacity limits in the stores. Only one store in Idaho has revealed its reopening date and time on the Apple website and precautions to its reopening, but more stores should be reopening when public health orders in states and counties have eased.

The Cupertino company is requiring all customers to practice social distancing by limiting the number of customers entering Apple Stores and requiring all customers and employees to wear masks, in addition, that they are also subject to a temperature screening upon entering the store. All stores that are reopening soon will also operate on shorter hours. Hand sanitizer stations are placed in the store floors and face masks are available for customers and employees upon request. A spokesperson from Apple issued CNBC this statement:

"We're excited to begin reopening stores in the US next week, starting with some stores in Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama and Alaska. Our team is constantly monitoring local health data and government guidance, and as soon as we can safely open our stores, we will."

"Our new social distance protocol allows for a limited number of visitors in the store at one time so there may be a delay for walk-in customers. We recommend, where possible, customers buy online for contactless delivery or in-store pickup."

Apple strongly recommends all customers to use the Apple Store app or the Apple Online Store to get their Apple products and accessories delivered safely to their homes or skip the credit card or Apple Pay terminals with in-store pickup. This will help reduce the lines and mainly focus on device demos and urgent repair procedures on Apple devices, such as battery replacements and Multi-Touch issues with iPhone screens. In addition, all customers waiting for their local Apple Stores to reopen are still encouraged to utilize online tools such as the Apple Store app, Today at Apple At Home, the Apple Online Store, Apple Support app and Apple Support resources such as documentation and YouTube videos to learn more about Apple products and get help with iOS devices and Macs without the need to wait a few more weeks.

Apple has started their reopening phases of locations outside China since mid-April in the company’s Seoul, South Korea location. The company already reopened its Vienna, Austria store, and nearly all of the 21 stores in Australia. Locations in Germany will be reopening the same day as the Boise, Idaho store on 11 May, but all reopening dates are subject to change by local public health authorities.