San Francisco's dying downtown suffers another hammer blow as Saks Fifth Avenue bans window shoppers from coming inside

San Francisco has suffered another blow as one of the most luxurious department stores downtown is banning window shoppers.

Saks Fifth Avenue in Union Square has decided to change its customer experience by moving to 'appointment-only' this summer, according to KRON4.

Locals will have to pre-book appointments at the store located on 384 Post Street from August 28.

Customers can no longer walk in and browse the luxury items, according to a company spokesman. 

It comes as areas in San Francisco have become known for their squalor and misery - so much so that local businesses are unable to recruit staff and residents have felt forced to flee.

San Francisco has suffered another blow as Saks Fifth Avenue, one of the most luxurious department stores downtown, is banning window shoppers 

 Homeless people are seen as the City fighting with fentanyl problems in San Francisco

The high-end luxury clothing company said it is looking for 'innovative ways to optimize (their) store experience to match luxury consumers' evolving expectations.'

It follows Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Palo Alto and Napa which have already become appointment-only stores in downtown San Francisco. 

Layoffs are expected to impact Saks Fifth Avenue employees in Union Square, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

But the number of workers who will be affected is unknown.

The Saks Fifth Avenue Union Square store offers in-store personal styling, alterations and complementary beauty services.

Customers have been encouraged to book appointments on its website.

'We look forward to serving our San Francisco customers with this new experience,' a spokesman for the company said. 

The store in Union Square has decided to change its customer experience by moving to 'appointment-only' this summer, according to KRON4 .

A map reveals the major businesses which have left, or have announced they are leaving, San Francisco in recent months. Retailers like Whole Foods, Anthropologie, Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth and now American Eagle are among those taking part in the mass exodus

Crime and high rates of homelessness in the famously progressive metropolis persists, especially in the surrounding Downtown area and nearby Mission District

Back in April, Mayor London N. Breed announced new measures approved by the voters to improve public safety - particularly in the city's hard hit districts

The rise in the number of homeless, now about 8,300 people, has brought with it a myriad of other associated problems filling the sidewalks with illegal drug dealers, fentanyl users and all round violent and intimidating behavior close to the tent encampments. 

Prime real estate was once home to outlets including Uniqlo, H&M, Rasputin Records, and Lush, but all have disappeared in a city center plagued by crime, drugs and homelessness.

The retail exodus is mirrored in nearby streets with 22 out of 33 stores now vacant in a three-block section of Powell Street from Market Street to Union Square, according to a survey by the SF Chronicle.

In December 2022, a federal magistrate judge prevented the city of San Francisco from clearing homeless tents although it was not banned from sweeping encampments.

The judge ordered city officials to stop forcing homeless people from public camping sites unless they have been offered appropriate shelter indoors.

But San Francisco Mayor London Breed has revealed the city is set to take a 'very aggressive' approach to remove encampments from the streets which have blighted the City by the Bay for the past four years.