Amid the COVID-19 situation, Costco is cutting back on its store hours and changing some of its policies. The warehouse club will not accept returns of certain items, and senior shopping hours have been put into place at most locations, Forbes reported.
On Monday (March 30), warehouse store hours will be reduced by two hours. As a result, most locations will close at 6:30 p.m. rather than the regular 8:30 p.m. According to the report, weekend hours will remain unchanged because that is peak shopping time.
In addition, the retailer intends to devote additional time to improve the cleanliness of its warehouse locations. It brought its demonstrators onto its sanitary staff early in the coronavirus crisis to help ensure that its stores were clean.
Costco has also announced that it will not take returns of certain items, such as bottled water, toilet paper and paper towels, which are not currently in high supply.
Senior hours at many locations have been put into place on Thursdays and Tuesdays between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. A number of grocers, in addition to Target stores, have also implemented senior shopping hours in the early morning.
As previously reported, Kroger and Publix are among the chains that have modified their hours in light of the pandemic, as well as Walmart and H-E-B. Officials said the lessened hours will provide their workers with time to restock shelves, clean stores and ensure the health of all involved.
Publix said it would start closing locations at 8 p.m., two hours earlier than normal, while pharmacies will also start closing at 8 p.m. until further notice. Store hours at Walmart will also be reduced, with 24-hour stores set to operate from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. as of Sunday, March 15.
