PEI

Charlottetown Walmart eliminates fitting rooms

Something is missing from the Charlottetown Walmart: fitting rooms. And some customers are giving the plan a thumbs down.

'I'm not going to buy clothes if I don't know if it fits me. I don't have that kind of money'

Some customers expressed dismay the Charlottetown Walmart no longer has fitting rooms. (Associated Press)

Something is missing from the Charlottetown Walmart: fitting rooms.

The store put up a sign saying the rooms would be closed as of this past Sunday. It added, if customers get home and don't like the clothes they bought, they can return or exchange them as always within 90 days.

Every store I've ever gone to in my entire life had fitting rooms.— Robert Crossley, Walmart customer

"We are trialing the elimination of change rooms in some of our locations in Quebec and the Maritimes in an effort to increase floor space,"  Anika Malik, Walmart's manager of corporate affairs, told CBC News in an email. 

The idea is, more floor space will mean more selection.

"This increased space allows us to offer a broader selection of clothing items and ultimately more choice for our customers," said Malik.

Plan a poor fit say customers

Customers CBC talked to outside the Charlottetown store gave the new idea a thumbs down.

"If you go buy clothes, you have nowhere to try them on, so what do you do? Don't buy them. It's as simple as that," said Catherine Bradshaw: 

"That's sad for the business, I'd say. It's sad for the customer as well." 

"Every store I've ever gone to in my entire life had fitting rooms," said Robert Crossley. 

"I'm not going to buy clothes if I don't know if it fits me. I don't have that kind of money," he said.

No word on how long the trial will last, and whether the rooms will ever come back.  

Staff at the Walmart location in Summerside confirmed the fitting rooms there remain open.

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With files from Stephanie Kelly