Retail Intel Weekly: COVID-19 News & More from CVS, Amazon

COVID-19Amazon is supporting 3M's legal action against Amazon sellers who allegedly sold counterfeit N95 respirators. 3M has filed suit in federal court in California asserting that Mao Yu and his affiliated companies falsely advertised as third-party sellers on Amazon under the 3M brand and defrauded the CPG/healthcare giant’s customers by charging grossly inflated prices for fake, defective, and damaged respirator products. Amazon learned that the defendants misrepresented what would be delivered for excessive prices, and that buyers had received non-3M respirators, fewer items than purchased, products in suspect packaging, and defective or damaged items. The e-tailer has blocked the accounts on its platform. 3M says it will donate any damages recovered to COVID-19-related nonprofit organizations.Amazon has launched a coronavirus testing pilot program at a handful of fulfillment centers, a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC, and is considering ramping up the program to test the bulk of its employees every two weeks.Meijer will begin accepting beverage container returns at its Michigan stores on June 15 after suspending the service in March due the COVID-19 pandemic. Shoppers can only bring in containers from drinks that were sold at the retailer and are limited to a $25 redemption per visit.H-E-B has relaxed its mask policy, no long requiring (though still encouraging) shoppers to wear masks while shopping in stores, despite coronavirus cases in Texas climbing over the past 14 days, according to data from the New York Times. Employees will still be required to wear masks.FINANCIALSPetSmart’s Chewy experienced a 46% increase in year-over-year sales in the first quarter of 2020 (ended May 3) with net sales of $1.62 billion. The company added a record 1.6 million net active customers during the period, more than double its average quarterly growth during 2019, as shoppers turned to e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chewy went public last year, and while it initially wasn’t expected to be profitable until 2021, it now expects to break even for fiscal year 2020, which ends in February 2021.CIVIL RIGHTSAmazon is implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of its Rekognition facial recognition technology as part of its response to ongoing protests against racial injustice following the police killing of George Floyd.As part of its response, Walmart will no longer put security locks on multicultural beauty products. The mass merchant also has removed firearms and ammunition from the sales floor of some stores during the protests.Albertsons Cos. is donating $5 million to social justice organizations including the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Urban League and the retailer’s African American Associate Resource Group. Albertsons also is backing a reserve fund for future social justice and diversity initiatives, including community outreach, supplier diversity and education.GROCERYKroger is continuing to expand its partnership with U.K. grocery e-commerce provider Ocado by building three customer fulfillment centers across the U.S. Located in the West, Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions, the facilities will use cutting-edge automation and artificial intelligence to allow Kroger to deliver products to a larger footprint.Kroger Precision Marketing is working with online streaming platform Roku to launch a new shopper data program that will make TV advertising more precise and measurable for CPG marketers. The program will share data on Kroger shoppers so that marketers can target their messages based on previous purchase behavior and track the effectiveness of their campaign.Ahold Delhaize’s Stop & Shop said Wednesday, June 10 that it has cancelled its deal with King Kullen to acquire 32 grocery stores, five Wild by Nature stores and use of its Bethpage, NY-based corporate office because “terms of agreement could not be reached,” according to a press release. The deal, announced more than a year ago, was initially expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.DRUGCVS Pharmacy launched a new wellness private label dubbed Live Better by CVS Health, in compliance with the retailer’s “Tested to be Trusted” program introduced last year. The brand launched with more than 80 SKUs across nine categories including vitamins, herbal supplements and personal care products ranging in price from $3.99 to $25.99.WAREHOUSESam’s Club will roll out curbside pickup to all clubs by the end of June. The service, which provides nearly contactless delivery to shoppers’ cars in designated pickup parking spaces, will be free for Plus-level members. Sam’s Club has been piloting curbside pickup at 16 clubs with positive results, per a recent media release.HURRICAN SEASONSoutheastern Grocers began preparing shoppers for an active hurricane season in the Atlantic, just before Tropical Depression Cristobal took hold. The grocer published a safety checklist spanning a three-day supply of water and non-perishable food, diapers, extra batteries, and first-aid kits, to name a few. In addition, the SEG Gives Foundation pledged a $250,000 donation to disaster relief to help ready the American Red Cross as forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, anticipate an above-normal Atlantic storm season this year. Hurricane season lasts from June 1 through Nov. 30.

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

You May Also Like

Retail Radar: Amazon Offers New App; Walmart Beauty Accelerator Returns

Retail Radar: Walmart Plays 'House'; Ace Grows Lawn & Garden Strategy