{"id":60249,"date":"2020-06-08T20:35:21","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T20:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/08\/heres-where-commissary-customers-may-find-a-silver-lining-in-the-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:24:32","slug":"heres-where-commissary-customers-may-find-a-silver-lining-in-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2020\/06\/08\/heres-where-commissary-customers-may-find-a-silver-lining-in-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s where commissary customers may find a silver lining in the pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Commissary customers have been taking advantage of their benefit in record numbers during the pandemic, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stores are one of the few military quality of life benefits that have stayed open on all military bases during the pandemic, and like grocery stores in the civilian community, they\u2019ve seen a surge in demand<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 13, the commissary system posted the highest one-day dollar amount of sales \u2014$34.5 million \u2014 in the history of the Defense Commissary Agency, said retired Navy Rear Adm. Robert Bianchi, DoD special assistant for commissary operations, during a virtual roundtable of the American Logistics Association. On March 14, commissaries posted the seventh highest sales number in DeCA\u2019s history; March 12 was the 11th highest. Overall commissary sales in March were up by 30 percent compared with March 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sales in April were up by 8 percent compared with April 2019, but transactions were down by 21 percent. That mirrors the trend in civilian grocery stores where customers are shopping less often, but buying more when they do shop, Bianchi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pandemic is not what we all would ever wish for, but if we can find a silver lining, it has given resurgence to the importance of these quality-of-life benefits,\u201d Bianchi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense officials\u2019 support of commissaries has been key, especially in designating commissaries as \u201cmission critical,\u201d Bianchi said. That designation meant that the commissaries would stay open regardless of an installation\u2019s health protection condition, “because senior leadership realized how important it was to feed our families<\/a>,\u201d Bianchi said. All 236 commissary stores have remained open during the pandemic, he said, except for a several-day closure at Mitchel Field, New York, due to an outbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, Bianchi reminds customers that there have been restrictions placed on shopping in some locations that are put in place by base commanders, not by commissary officials. \u201cWe\u2019re not restricting the benefit at all. I want to make that point clear,\u201d Bianchi said. Installation commanding officers have responsibility for the safety and security of their bases, so there are some locations where they\u2019re allowing non-essential personnel on base only on certain days for reasons related to the coronavirus. \u201cI hope people understand that base commanders have to weigh all these risks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As more was learned about health protection and sanitation during the pandemic, commissary officials took steps like putting plexiglass shields at checkouts; requiring face coverings for employees and all customers; and increasing their sanitizing. \u201cThis is something we are certainly proud to remind our patrons: that the commissaries and exchanges are a very safe place to shop,\u201d Bianchi said. There are indications some people have come back \u201cwho may not have shopped with us for a while because they did understand and realize that is is a safe haven perhaps in an otherwise stormy environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He praised the efforts of commissary employees and industry. \u201cIf there was ever a time that the military resale system in general rose to the occasion, it was really during this pandemic event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the high points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Click2Go was a big hit <\/b>and will be rolled out to four to six more commissaries this year, barring any pandemic issues and restrictions that hamper the efforts. The commissary\u2019s online ordering\/curbside pickup program, available at five commissaries, saw a \u201chuge increase\u201d in customers\u2019 use of the program, Bianchi said. For example, at Fort Belvoir, the usage jumped from about 150 orders a week in early March, to about 1,000 orders a week in April, he said. \u201cPeople definitely like the idea of being able to shop online, and pick up their groceries,\u201d he said. Click2Go started rolling out in 2019, and is also available at Virginia\u2019s Fort Eustis, Oceana Naval Air Station, and Quantico Marine Corps Base; and McGuire commissary at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Stores have gotten creative in helping customers get groceries.<\/b> The \u201cagent shopping program\u201d was developed in Europe because a lot of installations\u2019 local communities were in lockdown and customers couldn\u2019t get to stores, Bianchi said. Local installation and commissary officials put together a cadre of volunteers who would take the customer\u2019s order, pick the items off the shelves, and call the customer when they reached checkout so the customer could pass the credit card information to the cashier. Officials have worked with the Treasury Department to arrange for the ability of customers to make credit card payments by telephone. Fifteen commissaries are offering agent shopping now, and more may explore it. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to be creative and adaptive in reaching out to our customers and providing service to them in this environment,\u201d Bianchi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Commissary officials have worked closely with industry to keep the shelves stocked<\/b>. They\u2019ve adjusted their stock assortment to meet customers\u2019 demands. \u201cIn general, I believe our stores are stocked more fully than the retailers outside the gate,\u201d Bianchi said. \u201cWe obviously continue to have stress on some of the paper products and some of the sanitizing agents, and so forth,\u201d he said, but he\u2019s seeing an improvement. Officials anticipate shortages of these items nationwide to continue into the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrons appreciate what commissaries and their industry partners have been able to do to get products, Bianchi said. \u201cI\u2019ve heard from more than one, they were able to get toilet paper from us, they were able to get Clorox bleach, or whatever. They noticed. I think we\u2019ve built a stronger loyalty with our patrons because they\u2019ve seen us come through for them,\u201d Bianchi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stores in Europe and the Pacific have maintained an in-stock rate of 95 percent during the pandemic, with the exception of some frozen and refrigerated items, where the in-stock rate has been about 85 percent, he said. With the support of U.S. Transportation Command, they\u2019ve boosted the supply chain with 35 airlifts that moved about 4 million pounds of groceries overseas, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t