The Omicron variant surge has thrown a wrench in retail's recovery – Glossy.co

In the latter half of 2021, the narrative around physical retail was that things were looking up. Foot traffic was returning and brands were planning ambitious new store openings across the country. Then the Omicron variant hit, and many best-laid plans had to be thrown out. At the end of 2021, the U.S. surpassed 2 million new cases in one week for the first time, and cases continue to spread across North America. Some stores have temporarily closed, while others have limited their hours or instituted capacity restrictions to help stop the spread. Meanwhile, others that have remained open and hopeful that the Omicron variant spike will pass are facing sparse foot traffic. Apple, for one example, temporarily closed all of its stores in New York City, as well as a few in other areas including Washington State, starting on December 27. Some were closed out of caution, while other closures were due to too many employees testing positive for Covid-19 to sufficiently staff the stores, according to Apple.  The SJP Collection, a shoe boutique in Manhattan owned by Sarah Jessica Parker, also temporarily closed its doors on Dec. 28. The SJP Collection did not respond to request for comment. ​​“It…
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