DEDHAM, Mass. — Shelves remain empty at many Stop & Shop stores across Massachusetts, more than a week after the grocery chain’s parent company said operations were impacted by a cybersecurity attack.
With Thanksgiving just days away, Boston 25 News spotted bare poultry, meat, and produce shelves at the Quincy-based chain’s Dedham store.
A sign posted on a desolate Stop & Shop shelf read, “Due to IT system outages that are affecting some of our behind-the-scenes applications, product deliveries may be slightly delayed. We are working to restock our shelves as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience.”
“There was none of the stuff I was looking for,” said one shopper. “This is my first experience not getting what I needed.”
Customers also complained on the supermarket’s Facebook page that they haven’t been receiving “Go Rewards.”
Ahold Delhaize USA, which owns Stop & Shop and Hannaford, warned customers that some pharmacy and e-commerce operations had been affected by the ongoing cybersecurity security issue.
Despite the ongoing issues, a spokesperson for Stop & Shop assured customers that turkeys and hams are available for purchase ahead of Thanksgiving.
“While there may be some limited inventory for certain products, we are working to re-stock our shelves and anticipate item availability to continue to improve over the next few days,” the spokesperson said in a statement shared with Boston 25 News. “Our stores are well-stocked with turkeys and hams for Thanksgiving, and we look forward to serving our customers in the days ahead for the holidays.”
In Roslindale, the situation at the Stop & Shop on American Legion Highway was a bit better — but customers said the improvements had just begun.
“I came last week and the shelves were very empty,” said one shopper. “Today they’re sort of half-empty. Last week, I could only find little tomatoes. There were no regular size tomatoes at all. It looks like they’re restocking. But it’s been very bare lately.”
But not at all Stop & Shop stores.
Dedham seemed fully stocked with chicken and produce. In Walpole, the produce department looked bountiful — though the ground beef shelves were bare.
Late Wednesday, Stop & Shop spokesperson Caroline Medeiros said customers should not worry about Thanksgiving items — that Stop & Shop expects to have plenty of turkeys, hams, stuffing and potatoes in all its stores — with fewer empty shelves every day.
That was true even in Hyde Park and Roslindale, where each store had plenty of turkeys — and they were even on sale.
Cyber Attackers are known to target supply chains because they can steal an enormous amount of data — but also because such organizational structures are easier to exploit. One link in the chain with weak cybersecurity — and the hacker is in — with the potential to maneuver into other databases.
After listening to customer feedback, Stop & Shop recently decided to remove bag fees in most of their Massachusetts stores. New President Roger Wheeler also said prices were being cut on about 3,500 items.
On Monday, Hannaford announced that its app for online deliveries and digital coupons was back online after more than a week of being down.
Stop & Shop has 117 locations across Massachusetts, while Hannaford has 16 locations.
An investigation into the cause of the cybersecurity incident is ongoing.
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