Customers who want to shop at the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship in downtown San Francisco will soon have to make an appointment.

Starting next month, the Saks Union Square store at 384 Post St. will switch to scheduled shopping, a spokeswoman said. The luxury chain now has 16 "suites" at hotels operating by appointment only but no standalone stores appear to do so now. At least one retail analyst said appointment shopping is a growing trend among upscale retailers, but that problems in Union Square, such as concerns about theft, may also factor into Saks taking this route.

The Saks spokeswoman said in an email that “we’re always looking for innovative ways to optimize our store experience to match luxury consumers’ evolving expectations, including by meeting our customers where and how they want to shop with us." She added that starting Aug. 28, the shift to appointment shopping will let the store "offer customers more refined services tailored to their preferences.”

A number of retailers have exited downtown San Francisco in the past few years as the area, like some other urban centers, are hit with concerns about crime. The group that left includes Saks Off 5th — which like the upscale Saks chain is owned by HBC — and Nordstrom. Macy's told city officials in February that it was looking to sell its Union Square flagship.

And as part of the city's retail struggles, Trident Pacific Real Estate Group took control of the Westfield San Francisco Centre last in October after the mall's prior owner, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, surrendered the site to lenders.

The retail vacancy rate in Union Square is now 20.6%, according to CoStar data, about five times higher than the national average of 4.1%. Saks' store in San Francisco is 136,000 square feet, according to CoStar.

Saks declined to elaborate beyond its statement or provide more details on the strategy behind going appointment only in Union Square. The chain also didn't respond to whether the Potential Job Cuts Francisco location is its only standalone store to be adopting the new way of operating.

The Union Square Saks will be cutting jobs as a result of the changes at the store, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Saks declined to comment on the report.

Neil Saunders, a retail analyst and managing director of analytics firm GlobalData, told CoStar News there are specific reasons why Saks would go "appointment only" at its San Francisco location.

"I think it is more about Saks trying to make a particular store work better," Saunders said in an email. "A store that operates by appointment only can get away with far fewer staff. It is also a way of preventing theft. All this only works because Saks likely has customers that spend very high amounts in a single transaction. This kind of model would not work for mass market retailers."

Moving to this format helps Saks "offer a more elevated, private experience while reducing labor costs and helping mitigate theft," according to Amanda Lai, a director at consultant McMillanDoolittle.

"Retail foot traffic in Union Square still has not recovered since the pandemic and switching to an appointment-only model will likely help Saks operate more efficiently while still offering the same, if not a better, guest shopping experience," she said in an email to CoStar News.

Saks already has locations in hospitality properties, many at the Ritz-Carlton chain, that operate on an appointment-only basis. They are in: Napa, Dana Point, Rancho Sante Fe and Menlo Park, California; Denver; Orlando and St. Petersburg, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; Honolulu; Indianapolis; Minneapolis and Bloomington, Minnesota; Charleston, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Fort Worth and Austin, Texas.

The concept debuted a year ago when Saks said it was expanding its luxury personal shopping and styling service, the Fifth Avenue Club, with the launch of private, standalone suites in hotels and resorts across the nation.

Rudolph Milian, a retail consultant who is president of Woodcliff Realty Advisors, said that Saks' plans for its San Francisco flagship are unusual.

"I can only think that this is a last measure before closing the entire store whereby they can satisfy their customers with minimum staffing and keep the store free from loitering for safety reasons," Milian told CoStar News in an email. "The Union Square district is overwhelmed with crime and homelessness. It’s a shame that stores have to result to these measures."

Saks didn't respond to an email from CoStar News seeking comment on Milian's remarks.

Some upscale retailers have been turning to appointment-only shopping, according to Lai.

"Certain luxury department-store locations like the Neiman Marcus in Las Vegas operate by appointment only," she said. "Appointment-only stores have become a growing trend among luxury fashion houses, and locations like the Gucci Salon in L.A. and Brunello Cucinelli store in New York have opened up to serve ultra-high-net-worth clientele in a discrete, upscale setting. This trend is more prevalent across Asia, where several Chanel private boutiques and United Kingdom-based Harrods 'Residence' stores exclusively serve VIP clientele by appointment only."

Despite Saks' actions, a number of luxury retailers have given downtown San Francisco a vote of confidence this year by signing leases for stores there, including high-end jewelers Bulgari and A. Lange & Söhne.

Earlier this month, Saks' parent HBC announced that it had struck a deal to acquire Neiman Marcus Group — owner of its namesake chain and Bergdorf Goodman — for $2.65 billion.