Walmart will begin limiting number of shoppers in stores Saturday

BATON ROUGE – Walmart will begin limiting the number of customers in its stores this weekend.

The company said starting Saturday, April 4, stores will only allow shoppers equal to 20 percent of a store’s capacity.  Customers will be admitted into the store on a “1-out-1-in basis,” meaning as someone leaves, another shopper can enter, a company spokesperson told WBRZ.

Twenty-percent of a store’s capacity is five customers for each 1,000 square feet of the facility.  Using Google measurement tools, College Drive and Siegen Lane stores appear to be about 180,000-square-feet.

Walmart said to manage the restriction, associates will start a line at one, single-entry door – likely the grocery entrance – to organize customers. 

“Associates and signage will remind customers of the importance of social distancing while they’re waiting to enter a store,” Walmart managers said in a statement.

Additionally, stores will undergo expanded cleaning and sanitization protocols, install plexiglass guards at checkout and pharmacies and add floor decals and signage identifying appropriate social distancing.

“We remain focused on taking measures for associates to protect themselves while supplying the community with essential items for their families,” a spokesperson said.