The biggest bricks and mortar video game retailer in the United States, GameStop, revealed on Sunday that it will shift to online sales and curbside pick-up orders only and will close its U.S. retail operations temporarily.
The retailer came under scrutiny last week following the leak of a company memo on Kotaku which revealed that the company told employees they believe the store classifies as an essential retail service and therefore must stay open during the lockdowns of many cities.
Now, GameStop will close all of its stores to customers tomorrow – switching to a ‘delivery at the door’ service for locations that remain open according to company CEO George Sherman in a letter to employees today. GameStop will now be giving 80 hours of extra paid time off to those employees who are eligible for it, and two extra weeks of pay to those who aren’t.
GameStop has been struggling and closing stores over the past two years as game purchases have shifted towards either digital distribution methods or major online retailers like Amazon.
Source: Kotaku
