Kroger COVID-19 Update

* This is a living document that will be updated on a regular basis until it is no longer needed. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the Kroger COVID-19 update page.

April 6

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Kroger Family of Companies Introduces Additional Measures to Protect the Health and Safety of Customers and Associates

CINCINNATI, OH – The Kroger Family of Companies (NYSE: KR) today announced the adoption of customer capacity limits to further encourage physical distancing in stores. Beginning April 7, the retailer will begin to limit the number of customers to 50% of the international building code’s calculated capacity to allow for proper physical distancing in every store.

“Kroger’s introduction of customer capacity limits is one more way we are doing our part to flatten the curve while operating as an essential business, providing our customers with access to fresh, affordable food and products,” said Mary Ellen Adcock, Kroger’s senior vice president of operations. “During this national pandemic, we are committed to adopting preventive measures to help protect the safety and health of our associates, customers and communities.”

As an illustration, the standard building capacity for a grocery store is 1 person per 60 square feet. Under Kroger’s new reduced capacity limits, the number will be 1 person per 120 square feet. Kroger will begin to monitor the number of customers per square foot in its stores using its industry-leading QueVision technology, which already provides a count of the customers entering and exiting stores.

“By leveraging QueVision, our technology system that uses infrared sensors and predictive analytics, we will be able to more efficiently support our new capacity limits, creating a safer environment for our customers and associates,” said Yael Cosset, Kroger’s chief technology and digital officer.

Kroger’s new customer capacity limits joins other measures the retailer has established over the last few weeks to promote physical distancing, including the addition of plexiglass partitions and educational floor decals and airing of a healthy habits message via in-store radio to encourage customers to practice good hygiene and spatial awareness.

Kroger and its affiliates have also recently implemented the following protective and preventive measures:

Protective Face Masks and Gloves for Associates
The Kroger Family of Companies is encouraging associates to wear protective masks and gloves. The retailer has ordered masks for associates nationwide, with supply starting to arrive in select regions and the anticipation of all locations having supply by the end of this week.

Associate Wellness Checks
The Kroger Family of Companies is asking associates to closely monitor their health and take their temperature at home prior to coming to work. If they experience symptoms, including a fever, they are encouraged to contact their health care provider and stay home. Under its expanded COVID-19 emergency leave guidelines, associates self-isolating or experiencing symptoms as verified by an health care professional are eligible to receive their standard pay for up to two weeks (14 days).

The retailer started testing temperature checks in its distribution centers several weeks ago and is beginning to expand associate temperature checks to stores. Kroger and its affiliates are following local ordinances in cities or counties that mandate employee temperature checks, and associates may also request to have their temperature taken at work.

Piloting One-Way Aisles in Select Markets
The Kroger Family of Companies has started to test one-way aisles in select markets to determine its effectiveness as a measure to further support physical distancing.

Waived Prescription Delivery Fees
The Kroger Family of Pharmacies is temporarily waiving fees for prescription delivery via mail or courier. To learn more about the options and availability, customers should contact their local pharmacy location.

Continuing Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Commitment
As part of Kroger’s commitment to end hunger and eliminate waste in its communities by 2025, the retailer continues to allow its customers to use reusable shopping bags, provided there is not a state or local ordinance that prohibits use. The retailer encourages its customers to frequently clean and wipe down their reusable shopping bags to help maintain a safe shopping environment.

Reduced Holiday Hours
The Kroger Family of Companies is closing early on Easter Sunday, April 12, to provide its associates with more time to rest and be with their families. Holiday operating hours will vary by location and market.

April 1

Kroger Provides Business Update Related to COVID-19

CINCINNATI, OH -The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today filed its annual report on Form 10-K and announced business updates in response to the impact from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

“Kroger’s most urgent priority is to provide a safe environment for associates and customers, with open stores, comprehensive digital solutions and an efficiently-operating supply chain, so that our communities have access to fresh, affordable food and essentials,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO. “We are so proud of our dedicated associates who are on the front lines serving our customers when they need us most. A huge thank you to all of our associates, whose efforts are nothing short of heroic.”

After experiencing strong sales in February, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a significantly greater lift in sales across both physical retail stores and digital channels in March. Customers shop with Kroger in times of uncertainty because it is a brand they trust. In addition, Kroger has made significant investments for several years to enhance the seamless ecosystem for customers. As customers look for more digital solutions during the pandemic, Kroger is well-positioned to support them with pick-up, delivery and ship to home solutions. To advance operations and support the accelerated sales growth, the Kroger family of companies is making investments in its workforce, associate and customer safety, and the supply chain.

Kroger leadership is closely monitoring the impact of the pandemic on food retail across global markets. From early observations, Kroger is seeing trends similar to other markets affected by the pandemic. The Kroger family of companies started to see a significant shift in customer behavior during the last few days of February as shoppers started stocking up. Sales sharply accelerated in March with identical retail supermarket sales without fuel up approximately 30 percent. This was driven by dramatically heightened demand in the middle of the month as customers were stockpiling, which then tapered, but remained higher than normal in the final week, as customers adjusted to the new dining, work and travel restrictions. The demand has been broad based across grocery and fresh departments. It is too early to speculate what will emerge as the “new normal” in food consumption at home or what the impact on sales will be in future periods.

The Kroger family of companies is investing in special pay above regular wages for frontline hourly associates, providing expanded paid sick leave, and hiring a record number of new associates. It likewise is investing in safety protocols throughout its operations, including more frequent and rigorous cleaning and sanitization procedures in stores, distribution centers and manufacturing facilities. Kroger is also investing in its supply chain to expand capacity where possible. These investments are supporting associates, customers and communities through the pandemic, and will help the company emerge stronger as a result.

“We are seeing strong sales and are at the same time investing in our business to support our customers and associates through the current uncertainty,” said Gary Millerchip, Kroger’s chief financial officer.

As a result of recent trends, Kroger expects first quarter identical sales excluding fuel and adjusted EPS to be better than the annual growth rate provided in guidance for full year 2020.

Looking towards the rest of the year, Kroger expects volatility in sales throughout the year as the impact of COVID-19 on the consumer evolves, and anticipates the following to have an impact on full-year results:

  • Continued investments to help our customers and associates through the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Delay of certain cost-saving initiatives to focus all resources where they are needed most in the short term – to address the impact of COVID-19. The company has plans in place to resume these initiatives quickly, when the timing is right.
  • Uncertainty surrounding the longer-term impact of COVID-19, including the length of travel and other restrictions, on food and grocery sales, fuel and alternative profit streams.
  • Potential long-term shift in customer behavior toward eating more food at home.

In light of all these factors, Kroger leadership believes maintaining current guidance is prudent at this time and is therefore reconfirming guidance for full year 2020.

Kroger’s financial model has proven to be resilient throughout the economic cycle. Kroger continues to generate strong free cash flow and maintain strong liquidity. As a precautionary measure to reduce reliance on the commercial paper market and preserve financial flexibility in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Kroger proactively borrowed $1 billion under its revolving credit facility on March 18, 2020. Cash and temporary cash investments were approximately $2.3 billion and there were no commercial paper borrowings outstanding immediately following the draw down. To maintain financial flexibility, Kroger has decided to pause additional share repurchases during the fiscal first quarter. Kroger had already repurchased $355 million shares during the quarter under its $1 billion board authorization announced November 5, 2019, leaving $245 million remaining under the authorization. Kroger remains committed to maintaining a net total debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio target range between 2.30 to 2.50.

Additional Details of Associate Investments
The Kroger family of companies is protecting the health and safety of its associates and customers by:

  • Enhancing daily sanitation practices, including cleaning commonly used areas more often like cashier stations, self-checkouts, credit card terminals, food service counters and shelves.
  • Permitting and working hard to procure protective masks and gloves for associates.
  • Installing plexiglass partitions at check lanes, pharmacy and Starbucks registers across the enterprise.
  • Adding floor decals to promote physical distancing at check lanes and other counters.
  • Adjusting store operating hours to allow more time for our associates to rest, clean and replenish inventory.
  • Continuing to expand online pickup and delivery, and contactless payment solutions like Kroger Pay.

The Kroger family of companies is supporting associates in a variety of ways, including:

  • Providing a Hero Bonus – a $2 premium above standard base rate of pay, applied to hours worked March 29 through April 18 – for all hourly frontline grocery, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmacy and call center associates. This follows and is in addition to the company’s previous commitment shared on March 21, which provided a one-time bonus to frontline associates, which pays out on April 3.
  • Beginning next week, Kroger and certain of its affiliates are adding ExpressPay – a new benefit that allows most hourly associates to access some of their pay faster, putting money in their pockets sooner than usual.
  • Helping associates who are affected by COVID-19 – whether experiencing symptoms and self-isolating, diagnosed or placed in quarantine – be supported with paid time off.
  • Making additional resources available for those facing hardship, including lack of access to childcare and for those considered high-risk, due to COVID-19 through the Kroger Family of Companies Helping Hands fund.
  • Establishing an Associate Hotline to answer benefit questions quickly.
  • Providing access to mental health services and other benefits to support associates’ mental and physical well-being during this stressful time.
  • The Kroger family of companies has hired more than 32,700 new associates in the last two weeks, including workers from the hardest-hit sectors like restaurants, hotels and food service distributors.

Kroger and its affiliates are supporting communities in a variety of ways, including:

  • The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation is rapidly deploying more than $3 million in hunger-relief resources to communities disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic through its nonprofit partners, Feeding America and No Kid Hungry. The funding will not only support local food banks nationwide, but also fund initiatives that ensure children, whose schools may be closed, still have access to nutritious meals.
  • Making it easy for customers to support The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation’s mission to create communities free of hunger and waste by choosing to roundup their purchases to the nearest dollar at every self-checkout lane in America or donate at ZeroHungerZeroWasteFoundation.org.
  • Donating food and funds to local food banks and hunger-relief efforts.
  • The Kroger Co. Foundation supported the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program and Disaster Responder Program at the $500,000 level for 2020, enabling the Red Cross to develop capacity, leaders and resources to provide relief.

This press release contains certain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” about the future performance of the company. These statements are based on management’s assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as “believe,” “commit,” “continue,” “expect,” “future,” “guidance,” “strategy,” “trend,” and “will.” Various uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include the specific risk factors identified in “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K for our last fiscal year and any subsequent filings, as well as the following:

  • Kroger’s ability to achieve sales, earnings, incremental FIFO operating profit, and adjusted free cash flow goals may be affected by: COVID-19 related factors, risks and challenges, including among others, the length of time that the pandemic continues, the temporary inability of customers to shop due to illness, quarantine, or other travel restrictions or financial hardship, shifts in demand away from discretionary or higher priced products to lower priced products, or stockpiling or similar pantry-filling activities, reduced workforces which may be caused by, but not limited to, the temporary inability of the workforce to work due to illness, quarantine, or government mandates, or temporary store closures due to reduced workforces or government mandates; labor negotiations or disputes; changes in the types and numbers of businesses that compete with Kroger; pricing and promotional activities of existing and new competitors, including non-traditional competitors, and the aggressiveness of that competition; Kroger’s response to these actions; the state of the economy, including interest rates, the inflationary and deflationary trends in certain commodities, changes in tariffs, and the unemployment rate; the effect that fuel costs have on consumer spending; volatility of fuel margins; changes in government-funded benefit programs and the extent and effectiveness of any COVID-19 stimulus packages; manufacturing commodity costs; diesel fuel costs related to Kroger’s logistics operations; trends in consumer spending; the extent to which Kroger’s customers exercise caution in their purchasing in response to economic conditions; the uncertainty of economic growth or recession; changes in inflation or deflation in product and operating costs; stock repurchases; Kroger’s ability to retain pharmacy sales from third party payors; consolidation in the healthcare industry, including pharmacy benefit managers; Kroger’s ability to negotiate modifications to multi-employer pension plans; natural disasters or adverse weather conditions; the effect of public health crises or other significant catastrophic events, including the coronavirus; the potential costs and risks associated with potential cyber-attacks or data security breaches; the success of Kroger’s future growth plans; the ability to execute on Restock Kroger; and the successful integration of merged companies and new partnerships. Our ability to achieve these goals may also be affected by our ability to manage the factors identified above. Our ability to execute our financial strategy may be affected by our ability to generate cash flow.
  • Kroger’s ability to achieve these goals may also be affected by Kroger’s ability to manage the factors identified above.
  • Kroger’s effective tax rate may differ from the expected rate due to changes in laws, the status of pending items with various taxing authorities, and the deductibility of certain expenses.

Kroger assumes no obligation to update the information contained herein. Please refer to Kroger’s reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties.

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March 31

Kroger Family of Companies Announces Hero Bonus for All Hourly Frontline Associates

CINCINNATI, OH- The Kroger Family of Companies (NYSE: KR) today announced that it will provide all hourly frontline grocery, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmacy and call center associates with a Hero Bonus – a $2 premium above their standard base rate of pay, applied to hours worked March 29 through April 18. The premium will be disbursed weekly to ensure associates have access to additional cash.

Today’s announcement follows and is in addition to Kroger’s previous commitment shared on March 21, which provided a one-time bonus to frontline associates, which pays out on April 3.

“Our associates have displayed the true actions of a hero, working tirelessly on the frontlines to ensure everyone has access to affordable, fresh food and essentials during this national emergency,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO. “The Hero Bonus is just one more way we continue to convey our thanks and gratitude not only to our existing associates but also to the more than 30,000 new hires who have joined in the past two weeks and those who will soon join the Kroger Family of Companies.”

“Recently, we announced an appreciation bonus for our hourly frontline associates. This gesture was to thank our associates for everything they have done during the past few weeks,” said Tim Massa, Kroger’s senior vice president and chief people officer. “However, we recognize that this crisis is far from over, and after reflecting on associate feedback and working together with our union partners, we want to further acknowledge our terrific team for their hard work to date as well as the work yet to come.”

Associate and Customer Well-being and Safety

“During this unprecedented time, Kroger’s most urgent priority is to provide a safe environment for associates and customers, with open stores and an efficiently operating supply chain,” continued McMullen.

To protect associates and customers and flatten the curve, The Kroger Family of Companies has taken several preventive steps, including:

  • Enhancing our daily sanitation practices, including cleaning commonly used areas more often like cashier stations, self-checkouts, credit card terminals, food service counters and shelves.
  • Permitting and working hard to procure protective masks and gloves for associates.
  • Installing plexiglass partitions at check lanes, and pharmacy and Starbucks registers across the enterprise.
  • Adding floor decals to promote physical distancing at check lanes and other counters.
  • Adjusting store operating hours to allow more time for associates to rest, clean and replenish inventory.
  • Continuing to expand pickup and delivery services and contactless payment solutions like Kroger Pay.

Additional Associate Support and Resources

In addition to the Hero Bonus and appreciation bonus, The Kroger Family of Companies is taking several additional actions to support associates during this extraordinary time, including:

  • Ensuring associates who are affected by COVID-19 – whether experiencing symptoms and self-isolating, diagnosed or placed in quarantine – can recover with the support of emergency paid leave.
  • Beginning next week, the Kroger Family of Companies is adding ExpressPay – a new benefit that allows most hourly associates to access some of their pay faster, putting money in their pockets sooner than usual.
  • Making $5 million available for those facing hardship, including lack of access to childcare and for those considered higher-risk, due to COVID-19 through the Kroger Family of Companies Helping Hands
  • Offering an associate hotline to answer benefit questions quickly.
  • Providing access to mental health services and other benefits to support associates’ mental and physical well-being during this stressful time.
  • Supporting associates by onboarding more than 30,600 new hires in the last two weeks, including workers from the hardest-hit sectors like restaurants, hotels and food service distributors.

Community Support and Uplift

The Kroger Family of Companies is also uplifting communities in a variety of ways during this unprecedented time, including:

  • The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation is rapidly deploying more than $3 million in hunger-relief resources to communitiesdisproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic through its nonprofit partners, Feeding America and No Kid Hungry. The funding will not only support local food banks nationwide, but also fund initiatives that ensure children, whose schools may be closed, still have access to nutritious meals.
  • Making it easy for customers to support The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation’s mission to create communities free of hunger and waste by choosing to roundup their purchases to the nearest dollar at every self-checkout lane or donate at org.
  • Donating food and funds to local food banks and hunger-relief efforts.
  • The Kroger Co. Foundation supported the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program and Disaster Responder Program at the $500,000 level for 2020, enabling the Red Cross to develop capacity, leaders and resources to provide relief.

March 27

Kroger Family of Companies Provides New Career Opportunities To 23,500 Workers

CINCINNATI, OH- The Kroger Family of Companies (NYSE: KR) today announced it has recently provided new career opportunities to more than 23,500 workers nationwide, including those from the hardest-hit sectors like restaurants, hotels and food service distributors. Kroger plans to hire an additional 20,000 workers over the next several weeks to help it to continue to provide fresh food and useful supplies to communities across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Kroger’s top priority continues to be uplifting our associates and serving our communities, whether that’s by ensuring customers always can find food and products on our shelves or by providing a nearly immediate job opportunity to help an unemployed person to begin working again,” said Tim Massa, Kroger’s senior vice president and chief people officer. “During this time of uncertainty, Kroger is committed to remaining a constant. We have a responsibility to our associates, customers and communities, and we will continue to be here…for any need.”

Kroger initiated its expedited hiring process two weeks ago to shorten the time between application and employment, onboarding new hires in an average of 72 hours. Kroger’s human resources leaders are working seven days a week to quickly interview and recruit new talent that can uplift the company’s culture and Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit.

Additionally, Kroger is forming employment partnerships with local, regional and national businesses from the most-affected industries to create a shared-resource model to temporarily flex employees to Kroger roles, ensuring the food supply chain continues without disruption. Current partners include Frisch’s, Marriott International, McLane Foodservice, Shamrocks Food, Sodexo, SodexoMAGIC, Sysco, Thunderdome Restaurant Group and US Foods.

Open roles remain nationwide across Kroger’s retail stores, manufacturing plants and distribution centers. Candidates may apply via jobs.kroger.com. Kroger’s average hourly wage is $15 an hour. And with comprehensive benefits factored in, the company’s average hourly rate is over $20.

March 21

Kroger Family of Companies Announces Appreciation Bonus for Associates and Expands 14-Day COVID-19 Emergency Leave Guidelines

CINCINNATI, OH- The Kroger Family of Companies (NYSE: KR) today announced that it will provide a one-time bonus to every hourly frontline grocery, supply chain, manufacturing and customer service associate, amounting to $300 for every full-time associate and $150 for every part-time associate.

“Grocery workers are on the frontlines, ensuring Americans have access to the food and products they need during this unprecedented pandemic,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO. “Our associates are working around the clock to keep our stores open for our customers. I am incredibly grateful for all they are doing. The true heroes in this story are our associates, and we want to provide them with additional resources and support to help them continue their remarkable effort.”

“In every decision we make, we strive to balance our most urgent mission – to be here for our communities when they need us most – with ensuring the safety of our associates, customers and communities.”

The special bonus will be paid to frontline associates who were hired on or before March 1, covers the payroll period March 8 – 28, and will be payable on April 3.

Expanded 14-Day COVID-19 Emergency Leave Guidelines
The company today also expanded its COVID-19 emergency leave guidelines to include paid time off for self-isolation and symptoms as verified by an accredited health care professional. This expands the new guidelines, announced on March 14, which allows paid time off for associates diagnosed with or placed under quarantine due to COVID-19. In each scenario, all associates will be eligible to receive their standard pay for up to two weeks (14 days).

“We believe that by expanding our emergency leave guidelines, more of our associates can feel certain knowing that if their health is affected by or if they experience symptoms of COVID-19, they will be supported while they stay at home and recover,” said Tim Massa, Kroger’s senior vice president and chief people officer. “We are appreciative of all of our managers who have been working individually with associates in recognition that every associate’s situation is personal. We also want to make it easier for associates to follow our guidance to stay home if they feel sick and to do our part to flatten the curve.”

For those affected by COVID-19, the organization has also made available additional resources through the Kroger Family of Companies Helping Hands fund to provide financial assistance to associates who face hardship due to COVID-19, including lack of access to childcare and for those considered higher-risk.

 

Message from the president and CEO of Kroger, Rodney McMullen:

We’re Here for Our Customers & Communities

At The Kroger Co., our customers are like family. And like you, during these last few weeks we’ve been focused on doing all the things we need to do to keep our families safe and healthy.

As America’s grocer, we’re here for our customers and communities when they need us most, with open stores and openhearted hospitality.

We believe that everyone deserves to have access to fresh, affordable food and essentials, especially in times of uncertainty. That’s why our teams are working so hard to keep our stores clean, open and stocked. That’s why we took the precautionary step on March 2 to limit the number of cold, flu and sanitary products per order…so everyone can have access to the items they need. And that’s why our supply chain teams are working to ensure that the food, medicine and cleaning supplies our customers need are reaching our stores as quickly as possible and are available through our pickup, delivery and ship services.

We activated our preparedness plan several weeks ago, and we continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation. We’re following guidance from federal, state and local agencies, including the CDC and other health organizations.

Here are the steps we’re taking to protect our customers and associates:

In Our Stores

  • Cleaning commonly used areas more often, including cashier stations, self-checkouts, credit card terminals, conveyor belts and food service counters, and cleaning shelves when restocking products.
  • Sanitizing restrooms more frequently and restocking with supplies, including soap, paper towels and hand sanitizer.
  • Adding extra hand sanitizer at cashier stations, food service counters, and all Pharmacy, The Little Clinic and Starbucks locations.
  • Wiping down shopping carts, baskets and equipment.
  • Partnering with our suppliers to replenish high-demand preparedness products.
  • Continuing to provide our customers with free disinfectant wipes at our store entrances to sanitize their shopping carts or baskets.
  • Following best practices for safe food handling, as always.

 

For Our Associates

  • Encouraging our associates to closely monitor their health and well-being.
  • Providing hand sanitizer and tissues in breakrooms and meeting rooms.
  • Asking our associates to stay home if they, or someone in their household, are sick.
  • Providing financial support from our Helping Hands fund – a company-sponsored employee assistance fund – to associates who may be directly affected.
  • Suspending business air travel for associates through March 31, 2020 and recommending virtual meetings.

 

For Our Customers

  • Encouraging our customers to follow the CDC’s suggested hygiene practices to reduce the spread of the virus.
  • Recommending that our customers also practice safe food handling at home.
  • In everything we do, we’re guided by our values and our Purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit. We strive to make decisions that balance the safety of our associates with our commitments to our customers and communities. And above all else, we’ll be there for our communities when they need us most.

 

Thank you for being a loyal customer,

 

Rodney McMullen

Chairman and CEO

 

Updated Store Hours

 

Kroger

 

Please see adjusted store hours below. Remaining stores and regions not listed are continuing to operate under normal business hours.

 

  • Ashland, KY: 7am – 10pm
  • Cincinnati, OH; Dayton, OH; Northern, KY: 7am – 9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday – Thursday)
  • Columbus, OH; Toledo, OH: 7am – 9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday – Thursday)
  • Dallas: Normal operating hours (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 6am – 7:30am, Tuesday & Thursday)
  • Georgia: 8am – 9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday – Thursday)
  • Houston, TX Region: Most stores open 7am – 10pm
  • Indianapolis, IN; Central IN store locations; Peoria, IL: 7am – 9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday – Thursday)
  • Lexington, KY; Louisville; KY; Southern IN store locations; Southern IL store locations: Check your local store hours
  • Michigan: 7am – 9pm
  • Middle TN store locations; Knoxville, TN; Huntsville, AL; Bowling Green, KY: 7am – 9pm
  • Southeastern OH (Belpre, Marietta, Proctorville): 7am – 10pm
  • Southern Alabama store locations: 8am – 9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday – Thursday)
  • South Carolina: 8am – 9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday – Thursday)
  • Tri-Cities, TN store locations: 7am – 10pm
  • Virginia: 7am – 10pm
  • West Virginia: 7am – 10pm
  • Baker’s: 7am – 10pm
  • City Market: 7am – 8pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
  • Copps: 6am – 9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 6am – 8am, Daily)
  • Dillons: 7am – 9pm
  • Fry’s Food Stores: 7am –9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 6am – 7am, Monday – Thursday)
  • Food 4 Less: 8am – 8pm
  • Foods Co: 8am – 8pm
  • Fred Meyer: 7am – 10pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday – Thursday)
  • Gerbes: 7am – 10pm
  • Harris Teeter: 7am – 8pm
  • Jay-C Food Stores: 7am – 10pm
  • King Soopers: 7am – 8pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
  • Mariano’s: 6am – 10pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 6am – 8am, Daily)
  • Metro Market: 6am – 9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 6am – 8am, Daily)
  • Owen’s Market: 7am – 9pm
  • Pay-Less Super Markets: 7am – 9pm
  • Pick ‘N Save: 6am – 9pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 6am – 8am, Daily)
  • QFC: 8am – 8pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday – Thursday)
  • Ralphs: 7am – 8pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 7:30am)
  • Ruler Foods: Please see daily store hours https://rulerfoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Operating-Hours-image.jpg
  • Smith’s Food and Drug: 8am – 8pm (Exclusive Shopping for Seniors 60 & Older: 7am – 8am, Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

 

Return Policy Update

At The Kroger Co., the health and wellbeing of our associates, customers and communities is our top priority.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are temporarily suspending product returns.

 

* If any fresh produce, meat, seafood or deli product does not meet our Fresh for Everyone standard, we will continue to replace it or issue a refund.

FAQs

Q: Why are you not taking my return?

A: One of our core values is safety. Due to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic and our inability to monitor products that have left our stores, we are declining all returns (including refunds, store credits and product exchanges) for the safety of our customers and associates.

 

Q: Why was this not posted sooner?

A: We continue to closely monitor the rapidly evolving situation and make decisions that allow us to operate clean, open and stocked stores to serve our customers and support our associates. Out of an abundance of caution, we made the decision to temporarily suspend returns to protect the safety of our associates and customers.

 

Q: What if my product didn’t meet freshness standards?

A: We stand by our quality and freshness of food. If your fresh produce, meat, seafood or deli product do not meet our freshness standards, we will replace or refund those items.

 

Q: What is the time frame when you will start taking returns?

A: We will continue to closely monitor guidance from state and local agencies and adjust our policies accordingly.

 

Q: What are the customer’s benefits for us not accepting returns?

A: Customers can feel a sense of safety when purchasing products off our shelves. All products customers purchase off our shelves have not left the store.

 

Q: What if I purchased expired items?

A: If the product expiration date was before the buy date, we will accept a return as part of our Fresh for Everyone guarantee.

 

Q: Would this include clothing?

A: Yes, anything non-perishable.