Panera Launches Grocery Service, More COVID-19 News and Resources

Total Retail is continuing its daily coverage of how the retail sector is responding to the COVID-19 crisis. As retailers try to figure out how to navigate these uncertain times, it's beneficial to look at the ways others in our community are responding. Below are examples of how retailers are giving back to those in need, as well as some resources we think you'll find helpful.

• In an effort to help make essential grocery items accessible to all, Panera announced the launch of Panera Grocery, a new service enabling guests to purchase high-demand pantry items such as milk, bread and fresh produce alongside their favorite Panera soup, salad or sandwich. Panera Grocery is easily ordered on the Panera app or website and is available via contactless delivery, Rapid Pick-Up®,  Drive-Up and Drive-Thru, as well as through Grubhub.
• Total Retail's sister brand, Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC), gathered 10 tips for working from home from its community of retail leaders. These tips and tricks can help retail executives who are adjusting to working from home, learning how to lead an entirely remote team, and maybe homeschooling children as well. To read all 10 tips, click here.
• Nordstrom has partnered with Providence Health & Services, Kaas Tailored and Ascension to have the retailer's alterations teams in Illinois, Washington D.C., Florida, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Texas and California sew nearly 1 million masks for healthcare workers in the Providence and Ascension network of hospitals. The department store chain is also leveraging alterations teams in its stores to make an additional 60,000 reusable face covers for all employees still working to fulfill online orders.
• Amazon.com has partnered with leading personal protective equipment (PPE) supplier Urgent Response Network to help supply its new shop for hospitals with needed PPE, including the N95 respirators that shield clinicians from airborne particles of the virus.
• In order to help businesses better reach and understand consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Experian has released two new tools free of charge. The first is a consumer sentiment dashboard that will provide research insights around shifting consumer sentiment. The second, At-Risk Audiences, are new segments designed to help organizations find and communicate with at-risk populations. These new privacy-compliant segments, offered free of charge, are designed to help retailers find and communicate with at-risk populations, enabling them to deliver essential services as quickly as possible.
• Telehealth company Thrivetalk is offering free mental health services for essential healthcare workers and first responders throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Essential workers such as nurses, doctors, and law enforcement officers are working in dangerous, stressful conditions. Thrivetalk is also offering sessions at discounted rates for those who aren’t healthcare workers or first responders, but are seeking mental health services. To book a session, click here.
• Luxury bedding brand Kingsdown is shifting its regular mattress production capabilities to manufacture beds for use in healthcare facilities, temporary health care outposts and treatment facilities to assist during the COVID-19 pandemic. The changeover has been completed to produce hospital beds in three of the company's factories located in Mebane, North Carolina; Toronto; and Shawinigan, Quebec.