Stop & Shop Survey Reveals Silver Linings of Virtual Thanksgiving

While Americans prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving without their families and friends in person this year, Stop & Shop’s recent survey found that consumers are looking on the bright side of engaging in a virtual Thanksgiving. What are they most thankful for? Cozy clothes and fewer dishes to clean.

The Stop & Shop survey, which concentrated on Thanksgiving traditions and food preferences, found that respondents are looking forward to wearing their coziest sweatpants, sweatshirts and slippers, as opposed to dressing to the nines. The survey also asked participants what the “silver lining” of a virtual Thanksgiving is. Sixty percent of respondents replied that they’re most relieved to skip washing all of the dishes that come with feeding a large crowd.

Stop & Shop’s Thanksgiving survey also revealed the following:

• When it comes to leftovers, 63% of respondents prefer to load up their plates with round two of Thanksgiving dinner versus a turkey, cranberry and stuffing sandwich.
• Whether they're mashed, roasted or scalloped, potatoes beat out stuffing as the go-to Thanksgiving side, with nearly 57% of respondents saying they prefer a good spud.

“No matter what side dish you prefer — or whether you’re celebrating in-person or virtually — it’s important we all come together to appreciate what we have this time of year,” said Gordon Reid, president of Quincy, Massachusetts-based Stop & Shop, an Ahold Delhaize USA company.

With more than 400 locations across the Northeast, plus options for delivery and pickup, Stop & Shop is helping consumers get ready for any kind of Thanksgiving gathering this year.

While the food retailer indicated that it was phasing out its Peapod app in August, it launched a new integrated e-commerce platform and an enhanced customer loyalty program called Stop & Shop GO Rewards. The move came a few months after sister Ahold Delhaize USA banner Giant Food introduced a new integrated e-commerce shopping experience for customers, available on the retailer’s revamped Giantfood.com website and its mobile app.

Stop & Shop customers who previously used Peapod.com and the Peapod app can now place their orders directly at StopandShop.com or via the free Stop & Shop mobile app. The grocer’s new e-commerce site allows shoppers to build their shopping list, shop directly from the weekly digital circular and relevant in-app and on-site promotions, complete their grocery order online, and choose to either pick up their groceries at their local store or have them delivered to their doorstep.

Consumers looking to try to eat healthier this holiday season can also take advantage of the grocer’s Nutrition Partners program, which was launched in July. It allows consumers to contact dietitians to get answers to questions about food and nutrition, as well as find quick and easy recipes to make at home.

In other news, Stop & Shop said last week that it had signed on to be among the first pharmacies in the United States to administer future COVID-19 vaccines, once a vaccine is authorized or approved and recommended for use in this country.

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC employs nearly 60,000 associates and operates more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 11 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.