The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
Amazon reportedly asked its corporate New York City-area workers to take on grocery-focused tasks during Prime Day.
The catch: They’re requested in the warehouses to serve as “volunteers.”
The Guardian reported Monday that thousands of Amazon office employees in the metropolitan area received a Slack message that said the company was in need of “volunteers to help us out with Prime Day to deliver to customers on our biggest days yet.”
Sent out on Prime Day Eve, the message from a manager said the company “needed” employees to work in two-hour shifts in a warehouse in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood from Tuesday to Friday — the same period as Prime Day — The Guardian reported. The report added that Amazon operates a warehouse tied to its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service.
The workers would be tasked with picking items, preparing bags of groceries for delivery, packing boxes on receiving carts and working to “boost morale with distribution of snacks,” The Guardian reported, citing the Slack message.
But never fear! The workers are permitted to step into a conference room to take meetings and calls, The Guardian reported.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Guardian that this isn’t the first time “grocery corporate” employees have been “invited to volunteer” in fulfillment operations, underscoring that participation is optional. It appears Amazon did not consider the chaotic nature of Prime Day when reconfiguring its grocery executive team.
In case you missed it
Kroger revises its digital-only coupons
After facing backlash from a consumer advocacy group, the grocer has been working in recent years to make it easier for in-store shoppers to access deals that were once only available online. Kroger’s latest effort includes adding printed “Weekly Digital Deals” flyers at store entrances or customer service desks at some of its stores, KOMO News reported earlier this week.
“We’re focused on … making prices easier to get. So rather than a customer having to get out their phone to [clip a] digital coupon in-store, we’re trying to make the customer experience in-store much easier for them to access [Kroger’s] good prices,” CFO David Kennerly told investors in June.
Gelson’s turns up the dial on tech
The Southern California grocery chain is adopting Upshop’s total store platform across all of its locations, according to a Monday press release. Gelson’s Market is aiming for the technology to marry its forecasting, total store ordering, production planning and real-time inventory processes with local demand dynamics. The retailer will first focus on reducing food waste and optimizing its fresh food production with the goals of enhancing quality, minimizing shrink and streamlining back-of-house production.
What’s summer without watermelon?
Earlier this week, the Independent Grocers Alliance announced a partnership with the National Watermelon Promotion Board to launch a shopper marketing and retailer education campaign to improve watermelon awareness during the second half of 2025.
The multimedia campaign will leverage IGA’s retail media network, digital circulars and in-store promotions to feature watermelon as “a healthy, fun, and versatile option for summer and holiday meals,” the announcement noted.
Impulse find
An unconventional stock-up trip
One diehard fan of H-E-B’s tortillas was flying with precious cargo in their carry-on: 200 H-E-B tortillas.
“All these people and no one knows I have 200 H-E-B tortillas in my backpack,” TikTok user @annathecolossaltitan shared while standing in the boarding line for aflight. The video quickly went viral, racking up more than 79,000 likes and garnering more than 12,000 shares.
It even caught the attention of H-E-B, which commented, “Gotta keep those in the carry on. Don’t want to chance them getting ‘misplaced.’”
In case anyone reading this is interested in trying this, the Transportation Security Administration’s website lists bread as carry-on approved.
@annathecolossaltitan goodmorning austin #happyinternationalbaggettersday ♬ Easy - Commodores
