The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
Some Walmart store employees are now wearing body cameras as part of a pilot program, the retailer told sister publication Retail Dive earlier this week.
Walmart didn’t want to provide too many specifics about its security measures, so the details of how this new camera system works are unclear. Are the cameras constantly recording? Do workers choose when to activate them? What specific shopper actions warrant being filmed? Is Walmart going to use funny footage of customers getting lost or battling over TVs for TikToks?
Walmart is hardly the first retailer to introduce body cameras. Last year, when grocery company Tesco saw physical assaults rise by a third in a year, the supermarket chain offered body-worn cameras to its staff.
Filming anyone opens the floodgates to privacy concerns; but then again, customer shopping behaviors are already monitored through purchase history, store security cameras and loyalty programs.
Taking a cue from aisle-scanning robots, could grocers use the body-worn cameras to monitor out-of-stock items on shelves or learn more about their shoppers? The possibilities are endless.
In case you missed it
Weis Markets snaps up local grocery store
The grocery chain said this week that it bought Saylor’s Market in Newville, Pennsylvania. Weis expects to complete the purchase in the first quarter of 2025 and then will close the location for a brief period to convert it to the Weis Markets format.
This marks Weis’s third store acquisition this year. The chain, which runs nearly 200 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia and Virginia, also bought two stores in Pennsylvania a few months ago.
Cooking up in-store experiences
On Monday, Fairway Market welcomed chef Melanie Landano of Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors to its 2131 Broadway location in New York City for a holiday cooking demonstration with Kayshwar Mohan, a Fairway Market chef.
The two chefs showed how to prepare a prime rib roast and gave tips on roast selection and cooking techniques, according to an email. The demonstration came at a time when grocers are showcasing tips and tricks for holiday dining.
Pour one out for Drizly workers
New York Attorney General Letitia James recovered $4 million in withheld tips from now-shuttered alcohol delivery platform Drizly, according to a Tuesday announcement from the attorney general’s office.
An investigation by James’ office found that Drizly “actively encouraged customers to leave tips for delivery workers, even including an automatic 10 percent tip at checkout. However, Drizly led customers to believe that the entirety of those tips would go directly to the delivery workers who earned them, when in fact all tips instead went to store owners for distribution,” the announcement said.
James said more than 8,300 delivery workers in New York state will be eligible to receive the recovered funds. After buying Drizly in 2021, Uber closed the alcohol delivery platform early this year.
Impulse find
Santa Claus is coming to town — and the local grocery store!
With the winter holidays nearing, grocers across the U.S. are turning to Santa Claus as one way to entice shoppers to come to their stores.
Several grocers have already announced visits from Kris Kringle at their stores. Earlier this month, Santa swapped the sleigh and reindeer for a Coca-Cola Holiday Caravan when visiting The Fresh Grocer in Oakdale, New York. People at the store took photos with Santa and got free Coca-Cola samples, roasted chestnuts, pretzels, fresh-brewed coffee and hot chocolate.
Last weekend, Santa made an appearance at Hy-Vee’s Dollar Fresh Market. The “Shop with Santa” event gave kids a chance to meet Santa, share their holiday wish lists and snap some holiday photos.
Who doesn’t love a fun holiday photo opportunity?
