RETAIL THERAPY
Even under COVID-19 guidelines, Houstonians are ready to shop
It’s a few minutes past noon, opening time, on a Monday, and there’s a line outside The Local by Lululemon shop in the Heights Mercantile center.
Most customers wait patiently — appropriately spaced — on the cottage’s painted-gray wood porch. This outpost of the active-apparel chain, a concept store, is housed in a 1925 bungalow, chosen to inspire a “warm, inviting environment for shopping and connection.”
So much for the connection in the age of coronavirus, which has put a damper on many of Houston’s popular retail destinations. At Lululemon’s boutique, like many Houston shops, personnel are working overtime to make the necessary adjustments, while keeping the retail therapy vibe.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s push to reopen the Texas economy — with restrictions — thrust local businesses into the spotlight. Mixeduse developments with indoor/outdoor space are seeing shoppers return, and some of the industry’s mega-stores have found
ways to make customers feel safe and ready to spend.
Signs with suggested precautions are posted on windows and doors. The verbiage is onbrand and speaks directly to its niche customer: “Thank you for holding space with us 6 feet apart.” “Practicing patience. We’ve limited our store capacity.” “Staying 6 feet apart (Hint: the length of a yoga mat)” And “Smiling is also encouraged.”
Only cashless payments will be accepted, and contact-free payments are preferred.
One customer in the queue needs to return a pair of leggings. She tries to coax an employee into accepting her merchandise, but he’s reluctant to touch her plastic-wrapped item or her iPhone, which contains her digital receipt.
“If you had the paper copy, I maybe could scan it,” he says in a kind yet firm tone from behind roped stanchions. “I’m sorry.”
Some nice touches are gone in light of COVID-19. A large table with masks and hand sanitizer occupies the spot where armchairs used to sit. A display blocks the Smeg refrigerator once filled with Topo Chico for shoppers.
Regional community lead Sydney Gerbracht says that despite Abbott’s order, which allows businesses to operate at 50 percent capacity, The Local by Lululemon remains at 25 percent capacity. Foot traffic flows at a mindful pace. A sign on the bungalow’s back door reads, “Exit this way. It was great to see you.”
Across the Heights Mercantile parking lot, loyalists are happy to see Saint Lo Boutique’s owner Lindsay Vila, too. They stop to hug her and ask how business is going.
Some of the maxi dresses, crops tops with matching bottoms and face masks are sold out. “We have a very loyal clientele. We’ve been lucky,” says Kylie Bumgardner, store manager.
In River Oaks District, foot traffic is more of a mixed bag. Restaurant patios are packed, but many stores are empty. On a Friday afternoon, two collegeage young women pause in front of Alice + Olivia.
“Oh, wow, that orange dress is cute,” one said to the other before pausing. “But can we go in?”
A pair of traffic cones block the doorway. The would-be shoppers keep walking.
Some stores, such as Jo Malone, are closed until further notice. Half a dozen UPS missed-delivery notices clutter its facade. Others, including Cartier, are open for curbside pickup and completed-repair appointments only.
At Christian Dior, a security officer must unlock the door each time someone enters or exits the building. “If you’d like to come inside, we ask that you put on a mask and wash your hands,” he says, motioning toward a sanitization station.
Dior employees say that most customers have been good sports about the mask policy. Guidelines for the sales team are more stringent: They must change out their masks every six hours, and a cleaning company spends four hours sanitizing the store each day.
Two miles away in Shops at the Arrive River Oaks, Suitsupply aims to create an environment that’s both safe and social. It’s a fine line.
“Customers don’t want to walk in and feel like they’re getting a heart transplant — like we’re surgeons and they’re going to get sprayed down,” says Fokke de Jong, CEO of the Amsterdambased men’s suiting brand. “We’re going above and beyond what’s required or expected of us, but we want to do it in a way where people come into the store, and it feels seamless.”
Tailoring pun intended. “It’s hard to throw pins into someone’s pants from a 6-foot distance.”
That’s why de Jong installed shoppable touch screens and glass partitions with arm holes for stylists to reach the customer.
All employees have chores, he said. They’re responsible for checking each other’s temperatures, cleaning iPads, the registers and other frequently touched stations every half hour. “We have a system where we clean the fitting room between every customer and hang a sign on the door, like a hotel room.”
Stylists are encouraged to co-shop with their clients online before appointments. That way, employees can ensure the correct sizes are in stock, which makes in-store visits more efficient.
“We think that behavior is going to stick after COVID,” de Jong says.
Like Heights Mercantile and River Oaks District, Shops at the Arrive River Oaks has an advantage over traditional malls: outdoor space. Pedestrian walkways offer room to roam, which plays a significant role in the brisk business at Market Street in The Woodlands, too.
“We’re an outdoor center, anchored by an H-E-B, which kept consistent traffic,” says Market Street marketing director Noemi Gonzalez. “Realistically, we never officially closed because our restaurants onsite have always remained open for carryout and to-go.”
The mixed-use town center’s built-in crowds caught the attention of J.Crew and Warby Parker. Both brands selected their respective Market Street locations as pilot stores to test future reopenings nationwide.
J.Crew, which reopened May 12, follows the typical guidelines — customers are required to wear masks and keep 6-foot distancing — though additional safety precautions are also in place.
“There are clear barriers between the cash registers and customers, plus you can’t try anything on in the fitting rooms,” Gonzalez says. “It takes too long to disinfect merchandise and put it back on the floor. They do have a process for disinfecting returns, though. Items are quarantined for maybe 14 days.”
Warby Parker screens customers before they’re allowed to enter the store. Once cleared, shoppers can try on eyewear virtually or the traditional way — afterward, eye glasses and sunglasses are thoroughly sanitized.
“It’s been a lot busier than I expected,” Gonzalez says. “Things started to pick up the weekend of Mother’s Day and increase on a weekly basis, for sure. People are just ready to be out.”
In the Galleria, Saks Fifth Avenue general manager Matt Brown was pleasantly surprised how popular his store’s shoe and small-leather-goods departments have become. Though the contemporary and evening-wear section is quiet, new and returning customers are clamoring for designer sneakers, pool shoes and slides.
Around lunchtime, when the second-level restaurant’s 51Fifteen is usually booming, shoppers gather on the ground floor instead. That’s where Gucci footwear and coordinating accessories, high-end home fragrance and handbags have been popular.
“Our male customer who usually orders made-to-measure suiting from us now wants athome separates, as well,” Brown says. “So we’re getting more of that in.”
There are more than 40 handsanitizing stations scattered throughout the store. And while much of the Galleria slowly comes back to life — Neiman Marcus is appointment only, Macy’s is curbside pickup only and Nordstrom recently offered in-store shopping through limited entrances — Saks’ women’s shoe department is abuzz.
A small but manageable crowd gathers in Christian Louboutin’s corner, which is leased and operated independently by the French design house. Yards away, two Saks employees man a return station near the valet entrance. Items brought back to the store are quarantined for 48 hours.
Black masks are now part of the retail staff uniform. Face coverings aren’t mandatory for customers, though most choose to wear them.
An unmasked woman breezes through Saks’ street entrance. She stops abruptly, spins on her heels and heads back toward the parking lot.
Moments later, she reappears with her nose and mouth covered — confident and ready to shop.
“We have a very loyal clientele. We’ve been lucky.”
Kylie Bumgardner, Saint Lo Boutique manager