As tide turns, retailers that resisted masks relent

NEW YORK (AP) — When the parent of Southern grocery chain Winn-Dixie said that it wasn't going to require customers to wear masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, the response was brutal, with some loyal patrons vowing on social media never to shop there again.

Days later, Winn-Dixie reversed course and said that it would mandate masks in states or localities that had no requirement.

The about-face on Monday followed another highly-publicized reversal last month by AMC. Less than a day after the nation's largest movie theater chain said it would defer to local governments on whether masks should be worn, it came up with a new message in response to social media backlash: Customers who don’t wear masks won’t be admitted or allowed to stay.

Even as pockets of resistance remain, the tide appears to be turning on masks. Three out of four Americans favor requiring people to wear face coverings while outside their homes, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Even President Donald Trump has changed his stance after months of downplaying the importance of masks and igniting a partisan cultural war on the issue.

“Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact,” he said earlier this week.

As the number of new virus cases have surged in a slew of states, particularly Florida, Texas, California and Arizona, national chains like Walmart, Target and most recently McDonald's are issuing mask mandates as health officials repeatedly advise that covering your nose and mouth can be one of the most effective ways to reduce infections — itself a reversal of earlier messaging at the beginning of the pandemic.

“I believe brands need to pay attention to the new consumer activist," said Stefan Pollack, president of his own Los Angeles-based public...