A statement from Heather Reisman,
Indigo’s CEO & Chief Booklover

To our valued Indigo community,

As an organization, we are doing all we can during these difficult times to keep our employees and our customers safe. This has meant evolving our policies as new information regarding COVID-19 becomes available. The leading public health authorities in Canada and the World Health Organization agree that proper social distancing, hand sanitizing, and masks, when worn properly, are the best deterrent to the virus until there is a vaccine.

Regarding masks: we now require that all employees and customers must wear a mask while in-store without exception, aside from guests under two years old.

At the very heart of Indigo is our commitment to make shopping with us a joyful experience for everyone. We know this policy may mean that access to our stores is more limited for the time being, but we remain deeply dedicated to fully serving our customers who cannot wear a mask through a variety of accommodations including shopping at indigo.ca, curbside pickup, and through our new partnership with Instacart in select markets.

We know this is not a perfect solution, but we also know there simply is no perfect right now. Running a business in the midst of COVID-19 means that we have to make some tough decisions in order to keep our customers and our employees as safe as possible – and do our best to keep our stores open.

As always, we appreciate your cooperation and understanding.

Heather Reisman's signature

Heather Reisman

CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.


How We're Taking Care and Staying Safe

Our new health and safety measures include:

  • Limiting our store capacity and practising physical distancing in-store.
  • Enhanced cleaning protocols, including regular disinfecting and sanitizing of high touch surfaces and equipment.
  • Providing hand sanitizer in-store and encouraging customers to use it upon entrance.
  • Contactless payment methods strongly encouraged.
  • Using acrylic protective shields at all cash registers.
  • We encourage you to download our app to assist you with in-store searches.
  • Masks are mandatory for all employees and customers. Exceptions only for children under the age of 2 years old. Read more.
  • Contactless curbside pickup is available at select stores.
  • Food and drink consumption is not permitted in our stores.

FAQ

  • Are all of your stores open to the public?

    We are thrilled to welcome our customers back to all our all Indigo + Chapters stores, which are now open with limited capacity (with the exception of stores that do not have street entrance). Contactless Curbside Pickup available at select locations.

  • Why have you made masks mandatory?

    We remain committed to doing all we can to keep our employees and customers safe, especially now that Canada is experiencing a third wave of COVID-19 cases and with the emergence of additional variants. This has meant evolving our policies as new information regarding COVID-19 becomes available. We’ve made the decision to meet or exceed provincial or municipal requirements across Canada, mandating cloth masks to be worn in-store for all employees and customers, aside from those under the age of two. You can find our CEO’s public letter here.

  • Do you have requirements regarding which kind of masks are accepted in-store?

    In line with regional and provincial requirements, and in consultation with medical professionals, in-store customers must wear non-medical/medical disposable masks or cloth masks that are made of a tightly woven fabric material, that completely and comfortably covers the nose, mouth and chin. Other forms of face coverings are not accepted. To see Health Canada’s guidelines on the effectiveness of various types of masks and face coverings, please visit canada.ca.

    We offer disposable masks for those who would like to enter the store and don’t have a mask with them.

  • What accommodations will you offer to those who cannot shop in store?

    We’re dedicated to serving our customers under these unique circumstances and continue to offer a variety of accommodations to fully serve those who can't wear masks. These accommodations include (i) shopping online and delivery to home with Indigo at www.indigo.ca; (ii) curbside pickup where you place your order online and come to the front of the store to pick up your order; and (iii) our new partnership with Instacart in select markets where they'll deliver your order to your door.

  • Does this policy apply across the country?

    While this is our national policy, our Quebec mask policy aligns with the provincial government decree mandating that store access be provided for those customers with mask exemptions, including allowing those under 10 and with a medical exemption.

  • How are you keeping employees and customers safe?

    The health and safety of our customers, employees and communities is our top priority. We’re staying in close contact with health authorities to enact enhanced safety protocols, including limited staffing in stores to maintain physical distancing, providing PPE to all of our staff, frequent disinfecting/sanitization of common surfaces in store, and increased hand washing. We’re continually reassessing these measures in consultation with the health authorities.

  • What are your store hours?

    OTo find your local store hours, please visit our store locator page.

  • Are you accepting cash?

    If you want to pay with cash, we can process cash payments in all of our stores. However, to keep our customers and employees safe, we’re strongly encouraging our customers to use contactless payment methods such as credit and debit cards that can tap, as well as gift cards.

  • What is your return policy?

    Items purchased in one our stores can be returned to or exchanged in any location currently open to the public within 30 days from the date of purchase, if returned in store-bought condition with a receipt.

    Most items purchased online can be returned for a full refund up to 30 days from the shipping date.

    At this time, we cannot accommodate returns or exchanges at stores in regions that are currently closed to the public due to COVID-19. However, exceptions will be made to accept returns of online orders within 30 days of your store’s reopening.

Can I still pick up my order in store?

Yes, in most cases for items currently in stock, you can pick up your items the same day you order them. Almost all other items can be shipped to your nearest store location within 3-7 days.

I live in a condo/apartment. Will my deliveries still be delivered to my door?

With new COVID guidelines in place to protect our partner carriers, when delivering to apartments, parcels will not be brought up to the apartment door. Carriers will leave parcels in the lobby if they can gain access to the building with a buzz code or are let in by the tenant. If they can’t access the building, parcels will be delivered to a pickup location.

Are you still offering Contactless Curbside Pickup?

Yes, we’re continuing to offer Contactless Curbside Pickup in select locations, which is a safe alternative for our customers to pick up their orders. For more details, see Contactless Curbside Pickup.

What is Contactless Curbside Pickup?

Contactless Curbside Pickup is a way for customers to shop online and pick up their orders in as little as 3 hours while offering customers a contactless experience that provides the strictest physical distancing with zero contact.

It allows us to maintain safety measures with our customers while connecting with them to provide the best of our product offering and thoughtful gifting needs.

For more details, see Contactless Curbside Pickup.

Are your distribution centres open?

Yes, our distribution centres are open, and the health and safety of our customers, employees and communities is our top priority. We’ve implemented stringent measures and we’re in close contact with health authorities to enact enhanced safety protocols in our distribution centres as it relates to COVID-19.

How are you keeping Distribution Centre and Retail employees safe?

Our customers, employees and communities are our top priority and we’re staying in close contact with health authorities to enact enhanced safety protocols, including staggered lunches, staggered work stations to maintain physical distancing, providing PPE to all of our staff, frequent disinfecting/sanitization of common surfaces in store, and increased hand washing. We’re continually reassessing these measures in consultation with the health authorities.

How long will it take me to get my order? Are there delays with shipping?

Many items can be purchased online and ready for pickup in as little as 3 hours. We’re taking every precaution to create a safe environment for our employees, both in store and in our distribution centres, through enhanced safety protocols. As a result, processing online orders could take longer than normal and you may experience longer delivery timeframes. In some cases, deliveries could take up to 2-3 days longer than expected. We ‘re doing everything we can to get your orders to you as quickly as possible, and we’ll send you an email with all shipping and delivery information as soon as your order is on the way.

Where is my order? How can I check?

You’ll receive email updates when your order is received, and when your items are shipped. You should also expect updates through the delivery journey from our doors to yours. These emails will link directly to tracking information for your package(s). Visit www.indigo.ca/track to quickly view tracking for any of your orders.

The item I want is out of stock, when will it be restocked?

Due to increased demand for certain products at certain busier times of year, we might have a higher-than-usual amount of out-of-stock items. We’re doing our best to restock these items as quickly as possible. We encourage you to use our Back in Stock alerts feature and to return to indigo.ca to check on specific items.

How can I contact your customer service team?

For assistance, our Live Chat team is standing by for you from 9 am to midnight (Eastern), or you can ask a question to our Digital Assistant at any time! With high demand anticipated during this Holiday season, please be assured that we’re answering all inquiries as quickly as possible. We truly appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

Why is food and drink consumption not permitted in stores?

The health and safety of our customers, employees and communities is our top priority. Face masks are mandatory for both customers and employees in our stores. As such, we kindly ask that customers refrain from consuming their food or beverages to ensure that masks are worn at all times. We appreciate your help in keeping everyone safe and healthy.


Still Have Questions?

Please visit help.indigo.ca to browse our Help Articles and if you have any other questions or wish to send us your feedback, please use our Contact Us page.

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