Supermarket chain Stop & Shop announced on Friday that it is temporarily suspending store pickup services while reducing store hours in response to supply shortages and overwhelming demand due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Beginning Monday, March 16, most Stop & Shop stores will operate from 7:30a.m. until 8:00p.m. to allow more time for their associates to unload deliveries and stock the shelves, according to a press release on the company’s website.
While home delivery is still available, the Stop & Shop announced that there may be delays in fulfilling orders. “We recognize that online shoppers may be experiencing delays on our website as well as with our delivery times. This is again due to extremely high demand, and our teams are working incredibly hard to ensure the site is running smoothly so that you can continue to receive orders when you need them,” the company stated in the release.
In addition, Stop & Shop associates are implementing enhanced health safety measures, including having associates regularly washing their hands every 20-30 minutes, wiping down surfaces and encouraging associates to stay home if they don’t feel well, among other measures.
Stop & Shop has also instituted a purchase limit policy on some items. “Stop & Shop has placed a purchase limit on high-demand items such as hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes in stores as well as online, though the items may vary by location. The current limit is 5 items per customer,” the company stated in the same press release.
