In retail's battle over firearms, Walgreens is following Walmart's lead and barring customers from openly carrying guns

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Walmart's policy change appears to have set off a chain reaction in retail.

• Walgreens will ask its shoppers to stop openly carrying firearms in its stores.
• On Twitter, the company thanked Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts for her advocacy on the issue of gun violence.
• Walgreens follows both Kroger and Walmart in changing its open carry policy.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Walgreens will ban customers from openly carrying firearms in its stores, the pharmacy chain announced in a statement Thursday. It's just the latest example of the ripple effect that Walmart's own open carry policy change appears to have set off in the retail business.

According to a statement posted on the drug store chain's official website, Walgreens is "... joining other retailers in asking our customers to no longer openly carry firearms into our stores other than authorized law enforcement officials."

The pharmacy chain is the latest major retailer to shift its gun policy in the wake of Walmart's decision to ban open carry and cut back on its ammunition offerings. Kroger also followed suit, regarding the open carry policy.

Read more: 9 mind-blowing facts about Walmart

Walgreens even went a step further on social media, however, posting a tweet praising anti-gun violence advocacy group Moms Demand Action and its founder Shannon Watts.

The trend of retailers asking customers to forego open carry has attracted heat from right wing commentators.

However, a recent poll from consumer research firm CivicScience indicates that shifting gun policies aren't negatively affecting shoppers' desire to visit Walmart. And, if companies across retail continue to follow suit, it's unclear if a boycott will even be possible.