Weekly, more than 240 million shoppers visit Walmart, and they are ready to express their opinions about the retailer.
Over the summer, Walmart was criticized for the quality of its fruit, and just before the holiday season, the retailer was hit with a wave of customer fury when it was announced that it would be replacing its traditional layaway program with a credit-based “buy now, pay later” scheme.
Now, just in time for the holidays, the superstore has revealed yet another new adjustment that may have an impact on your holiday shopping plans. Continue reading to find out what Walmart has decided to ban.
Walmart is putting a limit on the number of COVID tests that can be purchased at one time.
Customers at Walmart will no longer be able to purchase as many fast COVID tests as they desire. In accordance with Reuters, the shop has just established a purchase limit of eight tests for each online order as of December 21st.
For those who like to buy in person, Walmart has announced that it will allow its physical stores to set their own inventory restrictions based on their current inventory levels.
According to a statement provided to the news site, Walmart “has solid inventory levels around the country in store.” “On the other hand, inventory is more limited online depending on the zip code,” says the author.
In recent months, a number of retailers have imposed purchasing limits on these tests.
Walmart is just one of the many merchants that have now restricted the number of tests that customers can purchase from their stores.
According to CNBC, Walgreens was the first to do so on December 21 by imposing a limit of four at-home tests per shopper, which was enforced both in-store and online. At the time, CVS did not announce that it would be establishing a purchasing quota of its own.
However, later that day, the pharmacy chain said it would be implementing a limit of six test kits per transaction, both in-store and online, according to CNN.
Amazon has likewise implemented a limit on the number of visitors to their website. As reported by CNN, the online marketplace is capping the number of COVID test collection kits that can be purchased at a time at ten.
Amazon’s third-party merchants, on the other hand, have the ability to impose their own quantity limits on the site. “We are working diligently to get additional COVID-19 test inventory” from sellers, according to a firm spokeswoman who spoke to CNN.
Officials have stated that there has been a huge increase in the demand for these tests.
According to Reuters, Walmart stated on December 21 that demand for its at-home COVID testing kits was “very high.” In addition, the other retailers who have implemented purchasing restrictions have reported similar results.
An increase in COVID-19 cases across the country coincidence with the Christmas season, according to a statement posted on Walgreens’ website on Dec. 21. “We are witnessing extraordinary demand for related testing and immunization services and goods,” the company stated in a statement put on its website.
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The demand for speedy OTC COVID-19 testing has also increased, and we are working with our suppliers to ensure that clients continue to have access to self-test kits during the holiday season.
According to CNN, Walgreens and CVS both issued comments warning that certain of their locations may encounter a temporary scarcity in fast tests as a result of this.
An Amazon spokeswoman also informed CNBC that the company is facing inventory constraints of COVID testing as a result of the increasing demand for the tests.
The White House intends to send COVID tests to anybody in the United States who requests them.
President Joe Biden said on December 21 that his administration will be offering fast COVID testing to persons living in the United States of America.
Although the federal government intends to purchase an extra 500 million tests to ship to citizens for free, Biden stated that delivery will not begin until after the holiday season, probably in January, at the earliest.
“More testing is one of the other things that we are aware of that needs to be completed. Omicron is contagious and readily spreads, especially among the unvaccinated, so it is crucial that we identify those who have been affected.
This means that we’ll need to do further testing “Biden made the statement. “As a result, it’s a lot better than it was before, but we’re taking even more effort to make it much easier for people to be tested, including making it possible to get tested for free.”