Apple will open more Express stores to ease iPhone 12 pickups

Apple will open more walled-off “Express” stores just in time for the holiday shopping season, its retail SVP Deirdre O’Brien told Reuters. The tech giant started testing the format last month in California and has since opened 20 Express stores across the US and Europe. O’Brien told the news organization that Apple will open more until it has 50 Express stores across the regions by the end of October. “It’s a swifter way for us to serve customers. It allows us to maintain all the appropriate social distancing and maintain all of our health protocols within our stores,” she said.

Express stores have walled-off facades to prevent customers from walking in. They have small windows protected by plexiglass so staff can assist customers one at a time, and people can also just make their purchase online before picking it up to make interactions even shorter.