During the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, numerous companies and organizations stepped forward to provide free resources, discounted services, and complimentary products to assist businesses, individuals, and frontline workers. These initiatives spanned various categories, including food and beverage, healthcare essentials, software services, and protective equipment. The availability of these offers was often time-sensitive, dependent on supply levels, or restricted to specific groups such as healthcare professionals or vaccinated individuals.
Food and Beverage Offers
The food and beverage sector provided a significant number of freebies and discounts to support customers during the pandemic, particularly regarding delivery services and in-store incentives for vaccination.
Delivery Fee Waivers and Discounts
Several restaurant chains implemented free delivery options to encourage ordering through their proprietary apps or websites. These offers generally required a minimum purchase amount and were valid for specific timeframes:
- Chipotle: Offered free delivery on orders over $10 until March 31.
- Pollo Tropical: Provided free delivery for all app and website orders until April 3, with no minimum purchase required.
- Red Lobster: Provided free delivery for website orders until March 29, requiring a minimum order of $30.
- KFC: Offered free delivery until April 26, available through the KFC website or third-party apps like Grubhub and Seamless.
- Moe’s Southwest Grill: Offered free delivery on app and website orders over $10 until April.
- UberEats: Waived delivery fees for independent restaurants and offered contactless delivery options.
Vaccination Incentives
As vaccination efforts rolled out, specific businesses offered incentives to encourage the public to receive their COVID-19 shots.
- Krispy Kreme: Launched a prominent offer allowing anyone who showed a completed vaccination card to receive a free "Original Glazed" doughnut. This offer was valid once per day for the remainder of 2021 at any Krispy Kreme location in the United States.
- Shake Shack: Mentioned as offering a deal for vaccinated individuals, though specific details were limited to the location at Cedar Hills Crossing.
General Food Freebies
- Burger King: Provided two free kids meals with any purchase made via the Burger King app.
Healthcare and Frontline Worker Support
Companies extended specific goods and services to healthcare workers bearing the brunt of the pandemic. These offers were often distributed through dedicated sign-up portals or verification processes.
- AAA: Offered free Roadside Assistance services to healthcare workers. Interested parties were instructed to call 1-800-400-4222 in case of a roadside emergency. Availability varied by state.
- chiliPAD: Provided a new chiliPAD, a temperature-controlled mattress pad, to healthcare workers. This offer was valid through May 31, subject to supply availability.
- Crocs: Donated 10,000 shoes daily to healthcare workers. Requests were processed via the Crocs website before 12 p.m. daily.
- Nursing and Health Care Worker Discounts: A list compiled by Davenport University highlighted various freebies and discounts available to nurses and health care workers during National Nurses Week. This included free dry cleaning and tax services, though specific providers were not detailed in the source data.
Protective Gear and Vaping Industry Promotions
The tobacco and vaping industries faced scrutiny for their marketing tactics during the pandemic, specifically regarding the bundling of protective gear with vaping products. While some offers provided necessary equipment like masks and gloves, they were often tied to the purchase of vaping products.
- Moti Piin: Offered two free surgical masks with the order of a battery-powered vaping pen via their online shop.
- Smok: Provided chances to win disposable gloves and up to 10,000 masks with the purchase of sleek cartridges.
- E-liquid Vials: Various online shops offered "two-for-one" deals on e-liquid vials or 19% off nicotine e-juices using codes like "COVID-19."
Software, Technology, and Business Tools
A wide array of software companies offered free or heavily discounted plans to assist small businesses, educational institutions, and remote workers during the pandemic. These offers focused on maintaining productivity, communication, and mental well-being.
- Anaplan: Offered free access for 90 days to qualifying nonprofits, government agencies, healthcare providers, academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and other frontline responders.
- FeedbackFruits: Provided free student engagement and assessment Learning Management System (LMS) tools for higher-ed teachers.
- Hiver: Offered Hiver’s Shared Inboxes on the highest plan free for the next two months to eligible small businesses.
- Noisli: Offered two months of the Business plan free, providing team members with unlimited access to background sounds designed to mask distracting noises and improve focus.
- Wildix: Provided free six months of Wildix Collaboration, a web-based communications tool for secure employee communication.
- Workhuman: Offered free special editions of Life Events® and Conversations® products until March 2021 to help mitigate isolation.
State-Specific Vaccination Incentives
State governments and lotteries also played a role in incentivizing vaccinations.
- Oregon: Vaccinated individuals over the age of 18 were eligible to win between $10,000 and $1 million in a state lottery. Governor Kate Brown signaled a cash lottery for vaccinated residents, though specific details regarding the implementation were not fully outlined in the source material.
General Freebies and Resources
Beyond specific product offers, general resources were curated to help individuals and businesses navigate the economic challenges of the pandemic.
- Clarity Wave: Curated a list of 318 free resources and deals, updated as of September 22, 2020. This list included products, services, subscriptions, and memberships that were either free or heavily discounted (50% or more) during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Conclusion
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic by brands and organizations was extensive, offering a variety of freebies and discounts ranging from food and healthcare support to software and protective gear. While many of these offers were time-bound or subject to supply limitations, they demonstrated a collective effort to support the community during a global crisis. Consumers seeking similar opportunities in future scenarios should look for official brand announcements and verified sign-up forms to ensure the legitimacy and availability of such offers.