Inside Apple's Coronavirus Store Closure Strategies

[MacRumors]

With Apple gradually reclosing many of its U.S. stores as coronavirus cases increase, The Wall Street Journal has taken a look at Apple's strategies and criteria for deciding when and where to close stores, viewing the company as a retail bellwether.

As noted by analyst Gene Munster in the video, Apple's massive cash reserves and its heavy online presence mean that the company can be more aggressive about closing its locations than many other retail companies. As a result, tracking the company's store closures provides an interesting glimpse of what's happening in various areas of the country and trends looking forward.

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Apple shared a few specific details about its store closure criteria with The Wall Street Journal, noting that it takes into account the following factors from county-level data:

• Case numbers
• Positivity rates
• Hospital, ICU and ventilator usage
• Asymptomatic testing
• Other factors

Apple says it uses publicly available data as much as possible, but if that data isn't available, it will contact public health departments to request it.

Apple closed all of its retail stores outside of Greater China in mid-March, and in mid-May it began reopening most of its U.S. stores. Just a month later, however, Apple began reclosing many of its retail locations, and nearly half of its U.S. stores are currently closed.

Article Link: Inside Apple's Coronavirus Store Closure Strategies

 

[macmyworld]

Great that Apple is taking care of its employees. Just wish they offered better service options when the stores are closed. Many people rely on their equipment to do business including many essential businesses.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Apple appears to be using a data-driven model, which is, needless to say, positive.

It would help tame the pandemic if more governmental entities did the same.

 

[Doctor Q]

Tracking store closures to identify outbreaks is a case of the tail wagging the dog. Apple reacts to outbreak data in each geographic area, so it's the data that tells the story. Apple's actions simply echo it.

 

[44267547]

Great that Apple is taking care of its employees. Just wish they offered better service options when the stores are closed. Many people rely on their equipment to do business including many essential businesses.

But like every other retailer during this pandemic, they’re adjusting on a daily basis. You can’t expect Apple to have a devised plan overnight in terms of how they need to formulate new plans moving forward in order to make repairs, purchases, store services, etc. I mentioned it before, there’s no doubt Apple is shifting a lot of their regulatory through online purchasing and repairs.

If the pandemic doesn’t stabilize, then some stores may be semi-permanently close for the remainder of the fiscal year, forcing customers to make purchases via digital and ship repairs. That’s the nature of how some retailers are moving forward, given it’s too risky for employees for exposure and the public.

FYI, look at Microsoft, they closed all their stores (not necessarily related to the pandemic), but the majority of the sales will is online and we live in a world where you can ship your repairs versus in-store services. I wouldn’t be shocked at all id Apple follows suit with some of their stores in the future as Microsoft did.

 

[Mr.Brossard]

I haven't been inside an Apple Store in years... Probably a decade. I had some shoddy work done on an early iPhone I took in, around that time and never went back. Plus, I've always BTO'd whatever I need from the online store. The physical stores seem obsolete, IMO.

 

[Karma*Police]

I’ve no idea what Apple hopes to accomplish with these closures. By following common sense guidelines, Apple can keep employees and customers safe, provide much needed support to its customers, and do its part to contribute to the health of the economy.

To think that closing a few Apple Stores will somehow prevent the spread is really silly... employees and customers are far more likely to contract it outside of an Apple Store... bars, restaurants, house parties, hanging out with friends, etc.

 

[Craptastic]

I’ve no idea what Apple hopes to accomplish with these closures. By following common sense guidelines, Apple can keep employees and customers safe, provide much needed support to its customers, and do its part to contribute to the health of the economy.

To think that closing a few Apple Stores will somehow prevent the spread is really silly... employees and customers are far more likely to contract it outside of an Apple Store... bars, restaurants, house parties, hanging out with friends, etc.

Which is exactly why Apple provides their retail employees a at home covid test every single week.

 

[skrutzen]

I’ve no idea what Apple hopes to accomplish with these closures. By following common sense guidelines, Apple can keep employees and customers safe, provide much needed support to its customers, and do its part to contribute to the health of the economy.

To think that closing a few Apple Stores will somehow prevent the spread is really silly... employees and customers are far more likely to contract it outside of an Apple Store... bars, restaurants, house parties, hanging out with friends, etc.

Apple stores are in busy areas. The employees feel safe at work but traveling to and from stores is an issue. Employees are at risk when they go on break, or have to walk through a crowded mall and people around you are not wearing masks. So what they‘re accomplishing is keeping their most important investment safe first: their employees.

 

[myrtlebee]

This is good, but unsettling at the same time considering they just closed my county's Apple Store...

 

[Karma*Police]

Apple stores are in busy areas. The employees feel safe at work but traveling to and from stores is an issue. Employees are at risk when they go on break, or have to walk through a crowded mall and people around you are not wearing masks. So what they‘re accomplishing is keeping their most important investment safe first: their employees.

By that reasoning, we should keep everything closed and not leave our homes until the virus is completely eradicated. We have more than enough data now to know that people can live their lives and not contract the virus so long as they take common sense precautions. That includes taking public transportation (there’s no evidence of widespread transmission of C19 in subways in densely populated cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, etc.) and working in retail stores (millions of Walmart and Target employees who‘ve been working through this pandemic are doing just fine).

We have an obligation to keep each other healthy and safe, not just from the virus, but economically as well. If it ever gets to a point where everything needs to shut down, so be it. But that’s not what’s happening here.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

We have more than enough data now to know that people can live their lives and not contract the virus so long as they take common sense precautions. That includes taking public transportation (there’s no evidence of widespread transmission of C19 in subways in densely populated cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, etc.) and working in retail stores (millions of Walmart and Target employees who‘ve been working through this pandemic are doing just fine).

All those cities you listed had aggressive contact tracing and lockdown or semi-lockdowns early on in the pandemic. Their cases never spiked to unmanageable levels like in the States or some cities in Europe, so the infection density is on a different level. There are some data that seem to suggest the NUYC spread was worsened by the subway, although the MIT study that suggested this used a dubious methodology. And even if public transport is completely safe, many US cities don’t have adequate public transport infrastructure in place to service everyone in a timely manner.

 

[Chaos215bar2]

I’ve no idea what Apple hopes to accomplish with these closures. By following common sense guidelines, Apple can keep employees and customers safe, provide much needed support to its customers, and do its part to contribute to the health of the economy.

To think that closing a few Apple Stores will somehow prevent the spread is really silly... employees and customers are far more likely to contract it outside of an Apple Store... bars, restaurants, house parties, hanging out with friends, etc.

Maybe if others followed Apple's lead here, we wouldn't be dealing with 10,000+ new cases per day in the US with at least another 100,000 deaths likely even if we were to start following all recommendations today.

 

[RogerWilco]

The real question is how many Apple retail stores will remain closed? Many of Apple’s stores are in larger shopping malls and those properties are in dire straits due to vacancies and financial losses.

 

[lkalliance]

Was at an Apple Store yesterday. Some are closed in my area, the ones in the most crowded spots; this one wasn't. I'm immuno-depressed, so I don't leave the house very often, but this was a good experience. I made an appointment (I was looking to buy my first Apple Watch) for yesterday early evening. Midweek, around dinnertime, a mall whose main anchors (movie theater, Macy's, Dave & Buster's) were closed as well as many (but not all) of the stores inside...felt reasonably safe. So I got to the Apple Store and here was my experience:

--First had to interact with what looked like security, perhaps they were medical staff. Had to answer the usual questions (Have you had a fever? Have you had a cough? etc.), and then had my temperature taken.
--Apple staff member was out managing the lines (reservations or walk-up, sales or service). I had to stand in a specific spot where where she (from a social distance) confirmed what I was there for and whether I had a reservation. Got in line, where of course there were tape marks to keep us distanced.
--Eventually allowed in (only so many allowed at once), and was accompanied to what I wanted to see.
--I did not expect this, but I WAS allowed to try on a Watch. He took out the sample watch case of the type I wanted, wiped it with disinfectant, did the same with the bands, allowed me to play around.
--Any time I looked around, SOMEONE was wiping down equipment or counters, and of course there were hand sanitizing stations in several places.
--When I made my purchase, the box was brought to the associate, who wiped it down with an antiseptic wipe. I was also offered as many antiseptic wipes as I liked to take with me; I used those to wipe down the exterior of the box and each of the boxes inside.

The reservations are just for 15 minutes, but I was there a lot longer (there wasn't anyone on line, my supposition about the time and place was correct). I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if needed.


EDIT: Oh, and of course masks required.