Costco (NASDAQ:COST) is bringing back sampling stations at 170 of its roughly 550 locations this week. The highly anticipated move comes almost 14 months after the warehouse club suspended sample stations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is not the only change the retailer is making as it eases COVID restrictions. By June 7, Costco will reopen all of its food courts at 50% capacity with social distancing. It will also offer new food items on its menu, including a new, bigger, dough-braided churro, which will cost 50 cents more than the previous version, and soft-serve ice cream.
The return of samples has many Costco shoppers excited. “Samples are back at Costco and this might be the happiest I’ve been in 15 months!” Scripps national correspondent Chris Conte tweeted.
Said one public health expert, you should still be cautious when visiting supermarkets and eating in crowds, especially if you are not vaccinated.
If you want to sample something in a store, try not to have your mask off for too long.
And make sure the workers handing out the samples are taking proper precautions, experts say: “To get life back to normal, we would need vaccinations to continue and to practice safety, especially for those passing out the samples.”
At Costco, those handing out samples will be behind plexiglass. At both Costco, employees who are fully vaccinated will not have to wear a mask unless it is state-mandated.
COST shares gained 38 cents early Wednesday to $378.61.
