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Walmart & Others Are Hiring to Meet Coronavirus-Led Demand
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The coronavirus outbreak has brought about a paradigm shift in consumer buying behavior. People are shopping essential items rather than making discretionary purchases. There has been a huge demand for grocery, packaged water, hand sanitizers, tissue paper, cleaning wipes, infant supplies and other related staples. As Americans are stocking up, companies are leaving no stone unturned to fill the shelves faster.
This rising demand calls for increased number of workers to ensure prompt services. The trend of social distancing in bid to curb the spread of the virus has led to higher e-commerce influx. Companies are witnessing a flurry of orders on account of customers’ unwillingness to visit offline stores. At this point, rapid deliveries are required to help people counter hard times. This holds true for online retailers and brick-and-mortar players with omni-channel operations.
Notably, the industry bellwether Walmart (WMT - Free Report) is on a hiring spree to keep up with demand during time of this biological catastrophe. The big-box retailer announced a hiring plan of an additional 50,000 associates, following the fulfillment of its commitment to employ 150,000 workers, six weeks ahead of schedule. The company plans to deploy this additional workforce in areas such as distribution and fulfillment centers as fillers and pickers; in stores and clubs as cashiers, stockers and personal shoppers; and for its fleet as drivers.
Amid all the gloominess, news related to additional hiring is surely a relief, as nearly 5.2 million more Americans have filed for unemployment benefits last week, per the Labor Department. Per reports, more than 22 million people have lost their jobs. The rapidly spreading novel coronavirus has claimed innumerable lives, roiled the stock market and brought the economy to standstill.
With strict measures imposed and people staying indoors, surge in online orders for essentials is being noticed. A week ago, Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) unveiled plans to hire 75,000 additional associates, after it employed more than 100,000 workers last month to serve customers better during this unprecedented crisis. Moreover, the company intends to spend approximately more than $500 million in pay increases. Other companies such as Kroger (KR - Free Report) and Dollar General (DG - Free Report) have earlier announced thousands of openings to cater to overwhelming demand of customers amid this disaster.
Apart from this, players in the industry are also focusing on bolstering omni-channel operations and ramping up delivery services to meet customers’ needs who are spending more time at home to minimize the risk of infection. Recently, Tractor Supply Company (TSCO - Free Report) equipped itself to offer same-day delivery of its merchandise by expanding partnership with Roadie. Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM - Free Report) unveiled plan to expand its grocery pickup service with Instacart to all of its stores by early next month. Likewise, a leading food and grocery retailer Casey's (CASY - Free Report) recently expanded partnership with DoorDash to boost delivery capabilities.
The coronavirus pandemic has in a way turned out to be a blessing for retailers as they are trying to expand online and delivery services, which will enhance prospects after the virus-induced crisis eases. Experts believe that once the coronavirus spread is contained and vaccine discovered, the retail sector, which touches every sphere of our life, is likely to witness a sharp rebound.
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Walmart & Others Are Hiring to Meet Coronavirus-Led Demand
The coronavirus outbreak has brought about a paradigm shift in consumer buying behavior. People are shopping essential items rather than making discretionary purchases. There has been a huge demand for grocery, packaged water, hand sanitizers, tissue paper, cleaning wipes, infant supplies and other related staples. As Americans are stocking up, companies are leaving no stone unturned to fill the shelves faster.
This rising demand calls for increased number of workers to ensure prompt services. The trend of social distancing in bid to curb the spread of the virus has led to higher e-commerce influx. Companies are witnessing a flurry of orders on account of customers’ unwillingness to visit offline stores. At this point, rapid deliveries are required to help people counter hard times. This holds true for online retailers and brick-and-mortar players with omni-channel operations.
Notably, the industry bellwether Walmart (WMT - Free Report) is on a hiring spree to keep up with demand during time of this biological catastrophe. The big-box retailer announced a hiring plan of an additional 50,000 associates, following the fulfillment of its commitment to employ 150,000 workers, six weeks ahead of schedule. The company plans to deploy this additional workforce in areas such as distribution and fulfillment centers as fillers and pickers; in stores and clubs as cashiers, stockers and personal shoppers; and for its fleet as drivers.
Amid all the gloominess, news related to additional hiring is surely a relief, as nearly 5.2 million more Americans have filed for unemployment benefits last week, per the Labor Department. Per reports, more than 22 million people have lost their jobs. The rapidly spreading novel coronavirus has claimed innumerable lives, roiled the stock market and brought the economy to standstill.
With strict measures imposed and people staying indoors, surge in online orders for essentials is being noticed. A week ago, Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) unveiled plans to hire 75,000 additional associates, after it employed more than 100,000 workers last month to serve customers better during this unprecedented crisis. Moreover, the company intends to spend approximately more than $500 million in pay increases. Other companies such as Kroger (KR - Free Report) and Dollar General (DG - Free Report) have earlier announced thousands of openings to cater to overwhelming demand of customers amid this disaster.
Apart from this, players in the industry are also focusing on bolstering omni-channel operations and ramping up delivery services to meet customers’ needs who are spending more time at home to minimize the risk of infection. Recently, Tractor Supply Company (TSCO - Free Report) equipped itself to offer same-day delivery of its merchandise by expanding partnership with Roadie. Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM - Free Report) unveiled plan to expand its grocery pickup service with Instacart to all of its stores by early next month. Likewise, a leading food and grocery retailer Casey's (CASY - Free Report) recently expanded partnership with DoorDash to boost delivery capabilities.
The coronavirus pandemic has in a way turned out to be a blessing for retailers as they are trying to expand online and delivery services, which will enhance prospects after the virus-induced crisis eases. Experts believe that once the coronavirus spread is contained and vaccine discovered, the retail sector, which touches every sphere of our life, is likely to witness a sharp rebound.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>