What stores are doing to keep you safe while you shop during the COVID-19 outbreak

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- ABC11 visited some businesses in the Triangle to see how they are taking precautions to keep customers safe against the coronavirus.

Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News App

Atlantic Garden Company in Raleigh

• Limiting how many people can go into their greenhouse and building.

• Moved cash registers outside.

"There's been a huge uptick in deliveries and call-in orders where people can drive through and do pickups," said Atlantic Gardening Company owner Guy Prevost.

Costco in Raleigh

• Sign says to stand 6 feet apart and they sanitize your cart when you go in.

• They're limiting how many customers go in at once.

"It makes me feel reassured, that being such a large retailer, that they're focusing on making sure the public is healthy and safe, knowing that we still have to get essentials for the house," said Costco shopper Hobert Bush.

"The aisles are pretty large so I make a conscious effort to make sure that I go to the other side of the aisle when I'm walking past someone," said Costco shopper Rachel Ward.

Food Lion

• Employees are sanitizing their belts often.

• The company said it has installed signage to address social distancing. Workers are installing Plexiglass at all registers, customer service and pharmacy counters. Installations are expected to be completed by the end of the week.

Home Depot on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh

• Enforcing social distancing with Xs on the ground to show how far apart customers should stand.

• The company's website said it has adjusted hours so staffers can have more time to clean and restock shelves.

• Workers have increased the frequency of cleaning and hygiene maintenance, stepping up efforts to disinfect high-traffic and high-touch areas such as self-checkout, door handles and bathrooms. Announcements on the PA systems remind customers to practice social distancing.

Lowe's on NW Maynard Road in Cary

• Plexiglass shields at the cash register serve as a barrier between the cashier and customer.

• The company said it has signage encouraging social distancing measures and overhead announcements every 15 minutes to remind customers. The stores should have clear signs and floor markers to reinforce CDC social distancing guidelines. Customers can checkout via mobile point of sale.

• The company said some additional operational measures include: enhancing daily cleaning efforts, increasing time spent cleaning and sanitizing stores, rescheduling non-essential services and installations, adding additional third-party cleaning and installing Plexiglass shields at cash registers.

"The guys, everybody has masks on so I think they're doing pretty safe," said Lowes shopper Niquann Orr.

Target, Triangle Town Center, Raleigh

Employees are wiping down carts at the entrance and giving them to customers.

The company says it is taking these measures:

• Cleaning check lanes after each guest transaction.

• Rotating the use of check lanes to allow those lanes not in use to be deep cleaned.

• Adding payroll hours to support more rigorous cleaning routines.

• Rolling out Plexiglas partitions to check lanes at the front of the stores, as well as at electronics, service desks, CVS Pharmacy and Target Optical.

• Encouraging guests to observe social distancing and remain 6 feet apart while entering and shopping in the stores.

• Posting signage at the front of every store.

• Implementing floor signage.

• Dedicating team members to ensure guests wait in line at an appropriate distance until they're called to the register.

• Overhead audio messaging in the stores.

As of March 26, all Target stores will stop accepting returns and exchanges for three weeks, through April 16. They're extending their return policy by three weeks after April 16.

Effective March 26, and until further notice, Target stores will stop handling guest-supplied reusable bags out of an abundance of caution. Team members are bagging items in a Target-supplied paper or plastic bag, and they are waiving any local bag fees. If a guest brings in a reusable bag, they can choose to bag their items themselves.

Finally, a reminder that under the governor's stay-at-home order, you should only go out for essential purposes.