U.S. food retailers are getting innovative with their foodservice offerings for consumers stuck at home as a result of lockdowns imposed in most U.S. states to block the spread of the coronavirus.
Retailers are quickly adapting to the new market conditions by adding more curbside pick-up and delivery options and making and selling restaurant-style meals for customers.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Giant Eagle will open its second curbside pick-up and delivery-only store in Garfield Heights, Ohio. The first pickup-only store in Akron, Ohio, doubled online order capacity in the past week, Cleveland.com reported.
West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee expanded its “Mealtime to Go” offerings. At around 200 Hy-Vee stores across the country, shoppers can order hot, prepared foods along with take-and-bake meals, which will be available for free pick up in as little as 30 minutes or can be scheduled for a future pick up time, the grocery chain said in a press release.
Elsewhere, Kroger’s Houston, Texas-based division is adding pop-up restaurant offerings from French’s, Peli Peli, and Kim Son. H-E-B also partnered with three Houston restaurants to supply ready-to-go meals for its Meal Simple program in select stores, The Houston Chronicle reported.
Many supermarket chains are hiring more employees to help them accommodate their suddenly-larger sales volumes. Walmart has hired 100,000 workers to help fulfill online and in-store orders, and is expected to hire 50,000 more, CNBC reported. Kroger has hired 2,000 new employees in the past month and has 10,000 open positions across plants, warehouses, and stores, and Safeway-Albertsons Seattle is hiring more than 1,500 people in Washington and Colorado.
Photo courtesy of Eldar Nurkovic/Shutterstock
