Walmart To Introduce One-Way Aisle To Further Encourage Social Distancing

The Coronavirus pandemic has affected us in more ways than most of us realize. One of the ways in which it has affected us is in the way that we shop. Social distancing has become the new norm and stores are trying to see what they can do to make it even more possible for us to continue to buy without putting ourselves in danger.

Many nonessential stores are closed temporarily because of the coronavirus, but big stores, such as Walmart, continue to be open and even to thrive. Shopping is no longer something that we do just to have fun, we now do our shopping online and have it delivered to our door. If that is impossible, we might have to head out to Walmart to grab a few items.

We all realize that the need to distance ourselves socially is vitally important for our health. It is something that helps us to fight against COVID-19 and, for the most part, we do our best to stay home, wear masks when we go out, and practice social distancing.

Many grocery stores are doing what they can to make this possible while shopping. This might include limiting how many people can be in the store at one time or marking the floor so the people stay at least 6 feet apart while they are in line.

Walmart is included in that mix, but they are taking things even further. They were already limiting how many people were in the store to about 20% of capacity but they still noticed that there were issues associated with social distancing. That is why they decided to go with one-way aisles.

Walmart has been testing one-way aisles for a couple of weeks in a limited amount of stores. It obviously was successful because, on April 23, 2020, Walmart stores across the United States will all have one-way aisles. Green “Shop This Way” decals will help to guide the customers. You will find those decals on the floor and as you are moving through the aisle. You will also notice red “Do Not Shop This Way” decals on the floor at the other end of the aisle.

Walmart corporate explained the reasoning for these one-way aisles in the statement on social media, saying “One-way aisles are designed to increase social distancing and give customers more space on each aisle.”

Other stores have also gone to one-way aisles, including Kroger Co., Hy-Vee, and Giant Food, who are testing one-way aisles in a limited number of stores.