Those days of strolling through the mall, popping into a store to hit up the latest sales, grabbing a hot pretzel or maybe catching a movie seem like a distant memory since the novel coronavirus outbreak. But the malls will reopen, and when they do a shopping trip will certainly look a whole lot different than it did in the past.
Simon Property, which owns 13 malls in New Jersey including Menlo Park Mall and Quaker Bridge Mall released a set of guidelines that include temperature screenings upon reporting to work for employees and big changes for shoppers including reduced mall capacity and markers to maintain social distancing in restrooms and food courts. Here are some of the other changes you can expect to see going forward once malls reopen.
- Free masks—Shoppers will be encouraged to wear masks and complimentary ones will be made available at mall entrances or mall offices.
- Hand sanitizer—Hand sanitizer will be available in common areas and retail spaces along with signs that encourage people to use it.
- Increased cleaning of high-traffic areas—Expect more frequent cleaning in the mall with CDC-compliant products.
- Foot court changes—Customers will find limited seating and increased cleaning in these areas.
- Recordings on speakers—Announcements will remind shoppers to maintain a safe distance from one another.
- Restroom modifications—Every other sink will be taped off to facilitate social distancing.
- Directional guidelines—Shoppers will find floor decals directing them which way to walk to avoid crowding. The mall may use separate doors for entrances and exits.
- Face masks for all employees—Malls will also encourage customers to don face masks.
Shoppers can also expect to wait in line to enter the mall, as capacity will be limited, and for high-touch areas like child play spaces to be closed off. We will also have to wait and see how coronavirus affects which stores might still be around, as major retailers such as J.Crew and Neiman Marcus recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the wake of the crisis.
When the doors to malls might actually reopen is still a big question mark. One thing is certain—we will have to wait until the state can meet the guidelines set forth in Governor Murphy’s plan to reopen New Jersey. Key points include a sustained reduction in new cases and hospitalizations for a two-week period and an increase in testing for COVID-19.
In the meantime, we will be taking advantage of all those online sales as we wait for when it is safe to shop in person at the mall again.
