Coronavirus pandemic brings Stop & Shop, Uber together to help senior shoppers
Stop & Shop president Gordon Reid talked to FOX Business’ Liz Claman about the deal
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As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the United States, brands are stepping up to help Americans get what they need. Stop & Shop and Uber are teaming up to do it.
The grocery store chain and ride-share company began offering people aged 60 and older half-priced rides to more than 400 Stop & Shop stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island this week.
The store was also among the first to offer exclusive shopping hours for at-risk shoppers.
Stop & Shop president Gordon Reid discussed it on FOX Business Network.
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“We found in the communities with the isolations and what’s happening with the coronavirus … a number of the rides that people get to the stores is closed down, and therefore, we decided that in order to help these people get to their stores, we’d partner with Uber and offer half-priced rides to our store and these special hours,” he told Liz Claman.
The store began reserving 6 a.m. to 7:30 am each day for shoppers age 60 and older and for those with weakened immune systems so they can safely buy household necessities.
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Target, Walmart and Whole Foods have rolled out similar measures.
For its part, Stop & Shop, like many other retailers, is facing challenges getting popular essential items, like toilet paper and cleaning solutions, Reid said. He said shortages are also in part due to nationwide restaurant closings and more people eating at home.
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| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 70.66 | +1.01 | +1.46% |
| ADRNY | KONINKLIJKE AHOLD DELHAIZE NV | 34.19 | +0.33 | +0.97% |
But his mission to help others remains the same.
“We have three focuses: One is to keep the food-supply chain open — and our people on the front line are making sure that happens — and that is essential in any sociality, to keep that food available,” he said, adding that the store has also “been making sure that our associates and our customers are safe as possible in our stores.”