Starting later this year, all honorably discharged veterans will be able to shop tax free online at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
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No matter their branch of service, veterans will be able to get the same discounts they enjoyed on base while in the military.
CBS News affiliate, WSBT, reports that it’s a new method to help keep its customers as the armed forces shrink, and airmen and soldiers purchase more for distribution.
Not only will adding 13 million new customers provide extra muscle to the group that runs the stores on U.S. Army and Air Force bases worldwide, but it will also fight online retailers like Amazon who try to get veteran dollars.
The Exchange has upgraded its brands at the base to include beloved brands like Disney and Michael Kors, just to name a few. Like private stores, it has also imposed tighter cost controls, reduced the number of employees and improved people’s experience on website.
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The Exchange’s CEO, Tom Shull, said the intent is to beat Amazon at their game.
“We’re leaning toward not just ship-from-store but pick-up-from-store and eventually deliver-from-store,” he said, which is soon going to add shipping centers within its stores to allow it to send products directly from those locations more cheaply and quickly. So far, 26 stores now ship orders, soon expanding to 55 by the end of the year.
Shull said that within the next three years, the goal is to deliver something on the base within two hours of when its ordered, partly because Exchanges are already on base and cleared by security.
The CEO also feels those are good reasons for the new online shopping privileges to draw veterans to do their shopping, saying, “Veterans value the cost savings and what they can do to support the military.”
Photo credit: iStock
