Nordstrom will have 94 stores back in operation on 21 May. Twenty-three of the store reopenings are Nordstrom full-line department stores; the rest are Rack off-price units. The bulk of the openings are in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Colorado. Nordstrom shut all of its stores in mid-March due to COVID-19. Customers will notice changes in the store environments, the store layouts have been adjusted to allow social distancing, there are new protocols in fitting rooms, employees undergo health screenings, and the amount of cleaning in the stores has been increased. The stores also provide face coverings for employees and customers, are limiting the number of customers and employees in stores, offer contactless curbside service and have changed the hours of operation.

Nordstrom’s market strategy involves utilizing stores, both the full-line department stores and the Rack off-price stores, to fulfil online orders and provide pickup stations in stores and curbside, and opening Nordstrom Local service hubs. The idea is to bring inventory closer to where customers live and work, get products to customers faster by using stores as fulfilment centers, and connecting digital and physical experiences. Over 50% of recent [nordstrom.com] online orders are being fulfilled in stores. Over 20% of Rack.com orders are fulfilled by Rack stores. In Canada, where Nordstrom recently launched e-commerce, 100% of those orders are filled by the Canada stores. CEO Erik Nordstrom mentioned that “We are really focused on our cash position and also our inventory position in the pandemic. Not being tied up in a lot of on-order, and being able to respond to what the customer wants are more vital than ever.”