More can shop at Exchange

DoD, Coast Guard civilians, retirees can now shop Exchange Online

By Chris Ward on November 8, 2021

DALLAS - More than 500,000 Department of Defense and Coast Guard civilians and retirees now have access to the largest Exchange in the world, tax free, at ShopMyExchange.com. DoD and Coast Guard civilians were granted in-store shopping access May 1 after a change in DoD policy.

To authenticate active and retired DoD and Coast Guard civilian and retired employees for online shopping, data coding had to be updated in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, which has now been completed.

"With holiday shopping just around the corner, this comes at a great time for these civilian shoppers," said Exchange Director/CEO Tom Shull. "The Exchange is honored to welcome them to ShopMyExchange.com while strengthening the benefit for soldiers, airmen and Guardians.

The Exchange, the DoD's largest retailer and the 54th largest retailer in the United States, has served warfighters since 1895. The Exchange offers tax-free shopping and military-exclusive pricing. One hundred percent of Exchange earnings support our military community.

In the last 10 years, the Exchange benefit has provided $3.4 billion in earnings for critical military Quality-of-Life programs such as outfitting 700,000 warfighters at cost annually, providing school meal support for Department of Defense Education Activity facilities overseas and delivering needed services to locations impacted by natural disasters.

The civilian privilege expansion marks the third time since 2017 that the Exchange's shopping base has grown. In January 2020, all veterans with service-connected disabilities were welcomed back to the installation to shop in person. On Veterans Day 2017, all honorably discharged veterans were welcomed home to shop tax free at ShopMyExchange.com.