Meijer Spreads Holiday Cheer With Gift Card Donations

Meijer Inc. is in stealth gift-giving mode this holiday season. After doling out gift cards in varying denominations to pickup shoppers at random, the Midwest retailer recently surprised hundreds of customers and team members with thousands of dollars in shopping sprees during its annual “Very Merry Meijer” in-store event.

This is the 10th year for that program, in which each Meijer store gives a customer $1,000 for in-store shopping and awards a $200 gift card to two associates. In the past decade, Very Merry Meijer events have provided more than 4,400 customers with more than $2 million in holiday gifts and groceries, according to the company. 

Executive Chairman Hank Meijer said that the gesture is meaningful to the privately-owned retailer. "Celebrating the 10th anniversary of this special tradition is so important to us because it embodies the values of the company. Very Merry Meijer is a way to thank our customers and team members for choosing Meijer, and we love to see the joy on their faces when they receive a gift card that pays for their whole cart, and usually their next shopping trip or two,” he remarked.

Added President and CEO Rick Keyes: "Very Merry Meijer reflects the giving spirit of the holiday season in our stores, which are such fun and joyous places during this time of year. Our teams can't wait for this event each year."

One of this year’s recipients also weighed in on the experience. "This made our holiday season. I was unsure how I was even going to be able to provide Christmas for my children," declared Sarah Miller-English, a mother of three who was surprised by the store director with a $1,000 gift card while checking out at a Meijer in Stow, Ohio. "I have heard of things like this happening to people, but I never thought it would happen to me. I cannot thank Meijer enough for this."

Privately owned Meijer operates 500-plus supercenters, Meijer Grocery, neighborhood markets and Express locations throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company is No. 23 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Top 10 Most Sustainable Grocers and Best Regional Grocery Chains in America.