The flagship store of Macy's is in New York.
Macy's is shortening store hours for the rest of the month because of staffing shortages and a spike in coronavirus cases.
Macy's department store hours will be changed from Monday to Thursday. Some Macy's stores used to open at 10 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.
The store hours will not change over the weekend, said the company spokeswoman. Macy's in-store staff will work their allotted hours. According to its website, the retailer has over 500 full-line Macy's department stores.
The spokeswoman said that they would keep enhanced safety and wellness procedures in place.
Macy's didn't say if it was seeing more of its workers testing positive for Covid-19.
There were 1 million new Covid infections in the U.S. on Monday. The record single-day number of daily new infections may have been boosted due to lags in reporting data over the Christmas and New Year's holidays, but the highly contagious Covid variant are also driving up the tally.
Americans were more likely to spread the virus when they gathered with friends and family over the holiday period. Studies show that Covid vaccines are less effective against omicron than other strains.
The latest wave of Covid cases is being handled by retailers and restaurant chains around the country. Walmart temporarily shut down many of its stores in the US due to a coronaviruses outbreak.
Apple has limited service at some of its shops in the New York area. According to its website, the electronics retailer has cut operating hours and allowed fewer customers in its stores.
The shortage of labor in the retail and restaurant industries has been worsened by the recent wave of Covid cases.
Retailers made it through the holiday buying season before the outbreak of the virus started again. In New York City, covid-19 cases began to increase.
"Retailers like where they can plan and anticipate and structure, and with this they can't."
An employee at the Nike store on the Upper East Side in New York City said that store hours have been cut to noon to 5 p.m. this week, compared with a typical 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. schedule. The store on the Upper East Side is now closing at 7 p.m. rather than 8 p.m., according to a worker over the phone.
Gap didn't respond to requests for comment about store hours.
If retailers can operate well enough on the weekends, these adjustments might not have a material impact on sales.
He said most retail sales occur toward the weekend. A lot of restaurants are not open seven days a week. If someone really needs something, they can order it online and have it delivered to your home the next day.
