Last week, Starbucks announced that customers who visit its company-owned café locations in the U.S. will be required to wear face coverings.
Costco Wholesale Club was one of the first major retailers to require face coverings for customers at all of its stores.
“I think Walmart's decision will give cover to other retailers to require masks," said Michael J. Hicks, an economist at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Social media is full of videos capturing clashes between those who are asked to wear masks, and employees who are under orders to make sure people wear them.
About half of U.S. states require masks in public places, according to the RILA.