Retail Intel Weekly: A Coin Shortage, Mask Mandates & More News

COVID-19Kroger has reportedly stopped giving change for cash transactions because supply chain and circulation issues have created a coin shortage. The retailer is encouraging shoppers to round up their transactions to support its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation or they can have the change applied as a credit to their loyalty cards for automatic redemption on their next purchase. Walmart is still accepting cash, but is converting some self-checkout registers to card-only registers on an as-needed basis, according to reports.As the Retail Industry Leaders Association asked governors across the U.S. this week to mandate masks for all shoppers, and the National Retail Federation encouraged all retailers to adopt their own nationwide policies, various chains initiated the following plans: Best Buy began requiring shoppers to wear masks in its stores nationwide on July 15. Walmart will require all shoppers to wear a face covering starting on July 20, and has created the role of Health Ambassador to remind those without a mask of the new requirements. Sam’s Club is also enacting the policy and employees stationed at club entrances will remind members of the new requirements. Complimentary masks will be provided if the member doesn’t have one. BJ's Wholesale Club will require all members wear a face covering starting July 20.Walgreens will require all shoppers to wear a face covering starting July 20, and there will be new and additional signage on exterior doors with this information. Walgreens stores will also increase the frequency of reminders to shoppers via its stores’ intercom systems. CVS Pharmacy is mandating masks in stores nationwide as of Monday, July 20, the retailer announced on July 16.Effective July 20, Whole Foods is requiring all shoppers to wear face coverings. The grocer had already been providing free face masks for shoppers since May 4.Meijer announced on July 17 that all shoppers at its stores or Meijer Express gas stations will be required to wear masks starting July 20.Kroger is implementing a mask mandate on July 22. Store employees have been required to wear face coverings since April 26. Shoppers who cannot wear a mask due to medical reasons are asked to use a face shield or alternate face covering or make use of the retailer's online pickup or delivery services. The $4.95 fee for pickup orders has been waived during the pandemic.Target will require wear masks starting Aug. 1. It will have workers at entrances to remind shoppers of the requirement and provide disposable masks to those who do not have them. Stores also remind shoppers of the new policy with signage and overhead audio broadcasts.Costco was one of the first retailers to start requiring masks at all of its clubs, beginning in early May. Southeastern Grocers will not mandate masks in stores to avoid "undue friction" between shoppers and employees, a spokesperson told multiple news outlets, though added that the retailer encourages state officials to "lead the way in regulating these type of safety mandates."Southeastern rival Publix instead joined the growing list of retailers mandating masks, effective July 21. Albertsons Cos.' nationwide mask mandate in all of its stores also went into effect on July 21.PetSmart used a July 19 email blast to announce that shoppers would be required to wear masks in stores starting July 20. Employees will hand out masks to anyone who doesn't have one. The email also noted that the retailer has temporarily cancelled in-store events in order to minimize crowds and is installing plexiglass shields at checkout registers.Aldi announced on July 17 that it will require face coverings to enter stores starting July 27. Shoppers who are unable or unwilling to wear a mask are encouraged to use the chain's delivery or curbside pickup services.The Home Depot will require shoppers to wear masks starting July 22. Small children and adults with a valid medical condition are except. Shoppers will be reminded of the requirements with signs posted at store entrances and audio broadcasts. Employees will provide masks to anyone who doesn't have one. The change was announced on July 17 as part of a post that noted that masks are already required at about 85% of the retailer's stores due to local and state regulations.Lowe's began requiring face coverings in stores on July 20 and is offering free masks at its customer service desks while supplies last. Employees have been required to wear masks since May.Walmart is making its seventh annual Open Call for made-in-America merchandise a virtual event, to be held Oct. 1. Manufacturers looking to get their branded items on shelves at Walmart or build a private label partnership with the retailer have until Aug. 10 to apply. Walmart is working with RangeMe to host the event, which is part of the retailer's 2018 commitment to purchase an additional $250 billion in products made, sourced or grown in the U.S. by 2023.In preparation for the holidays, Amazon is imposing stricter quantity limits on third-party sellers across all categories for storing goods in U.S. warehouses. The limits vary by product. Amazon also is waiving its inventory removal fees to help free up more space.Amazon and partner Crossover Health will build 20 health centers over the next few months in five cities near Amazon fulfillment centers as part of Amazon's pilot healthcare program for employees and their families.CVS Pharmacy shared on multiple platforms on Tuesday, July 14, that the surge in COVID-19 cases in many parts of the U.S. is causing backlogs in processing test results due to the high demand it’s experiencing at its drive-thru testing sites. CVS sends its tests to an independent, third party for processing. While CVS said results previously took two to four days, the retailer is now telling patients to expect to wait six to 10 days.Meanwhile, Rite Aid is trying to ease the blow by doubling its COVID-19 testing capacity, opening 161 new drive-thru sites on July 16 in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services. With a current total of 258 sites that can conduct a total of 94,000 tests weekly, the additions include locations in California, Oregon and Washington, plus additional locations in Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.After initially joining forces with Ahold Delhaize’s Stop & Shop to rally lawmakers to temporarily classify grocery store employees as “extended first responders,” the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is publicly condemning the supermarket chain for ending its COVID-19 “appreciation pay” increase of 10% on July 4 and petitioning the retailer to reconsider. In another turn of events, Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, also weighed in, noting in a tweet: “This pandemic is far from over. It is unconscionable that Stop & Shop management would deprive workers of the hazard pay that they deserve.” UFWC's petition on its website had more than 8,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon July 16.SOCIAL JUSTICEDollar General and its nonprofit Dollar General Literacy Foundation have pledged to donate $5 million to fund organizations focused on racial justice and equity.AMAZONAmazon will be outfitting the Los Angeles grocery store it is opening this year with smart shopping carts dubbed "Dash Carts." The carts are embedded with cameras, sensors, a weighing component and a smart display to automatically track a shopper's order, and allow for a digital checkout without a human cashier.GROCERYAhold Delhaize’s Stop & Shop has launched a free, digital dietician program dubbed Nutrition Partners that spans weekly webinars on topics like heart healthy eating, one-on-one consultations with a dietician, cooking demos and other educational resources found at Stop & Shop microsite nutritionatstopandshop.com.Ahold Delhaize’s Giant Food is beefing up its Kosher offerings at 150 stores in the Baltimore area, which has a massive Jewish population, just ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, celebrated from Sept. 18-20 this year. Promotional pricing will begin in late August, with products stocked on special endcaps and other displays.Giant Food also just donated more than $1.2 million to nonprofit USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore, which helps support military families. For the fifth consecutive year, the USO-Metro served as one of the main charity beneficiaries of the 2020 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle, which took place virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Kroger has partnered with Duke Energy’s REC Solar to install a rooftop solar power array at the bakery facility in La Habra, CA, that serves its Ralphs and Food 4 Less stores in Southern California. The project follows last year’s solar panel installation at the retailer’s automated distribution center in Paramount, CA.CONVENIENCE STORESCircle K parent company Alimentation Couche-Tard is reportedly in the process of selling 1,250 stores near Speedway locations to alleviate competitive concerns that could stand in the way of it acquiring all 3,800 of Marathon Petroleum’s convenience stores. The sale would raise approximately $4 billion.DRUGSTORESWalgreens announced it was now available on the DoorDash platform in the Chicago, Atlanta and Denver markets. The retailer expects to be on DoorDash in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento and Seattle by the end of the summer.

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