Walmart announces store capacity limits, taking effect Saturday

EL PASO, Texas -- Get ready for crowd control at Walmart stores starting Saturday.

Walmart said it still wants customers, just fewer of them at a time in each store.

The nation’s largest retailer said it will now allow no more than five customers for each 1,000 square feet at a given time, roughly about 20% of the average store’s capacity.

To oversee the restriction, workers will mark a queue at a single-entry door, and direct arriving customers there, where they’ll be admitted one by one.

In addition, Walmart said one-way movement through store aisles will be established with floor markers and directions from employees.

Shoppers will also exit through a different door than the entrance, the retailer said.

Walmart joins Target and others in trying to limit the number of customers in the store to curb the spread of the coronavirus.