As COVID-19 continues to impact our daily lives and habits, now more than ever shoppers are looking for contactless experiences to minimize exposure. As a result, one of the solutions that grocery stores are starting to implement to diminish contact is through cashierless checkouts. While Amazon was one of the first to actively push and implement this technology with its Amazon Go stores a couple of years ago even before this global pandemic struck, the increased need for it has accelerated its demand and development at warp speed. Not only are the number of cashierless tech startups on the rise, a number of them have successfully been raising millions in funding (including Zippin and Grabango, both of which in recent months have raised $30 million and $39 million respectively in Series B funding).
The different companies have varying approaches to accomplishing cashierless checkout (for example, some utilize a smart cart, another uses lots of tiny cameras mounted on the ceiling to saturate its computer vision field and keep track of purchases, and yet another uses an app to scan and keep track of purchases) so it will be interesting to see which methods are more widely adopted and which ones provide the most efficient and seamless experiences. One thing that is certain is that most retailers will be adopting cashierless checkout sooner rather than later, or risk being left in the dust.
While many shoppers are looking to ring up their grocery cart items with limited contact, several would also like the ability eschew the traditional ways of cash or credit/debit card by utilizing mobile payment methods instead. According to âGlobal Digital Payments,â a recent internet survey-based study sponsored by Blackhawk Network, digital wallet and payments are driving an increase in shopper loyalty as 63 percent of respondents report they are more likely to shop at a retailer if they accept the digital payments they use, and 73 percent of respondents say they want to be able to pay the same way they pay online and in-store. Additionally, PayPal was cited as the number one digital payment tool that consumers intend to use in 2021 with 60 percent of digital payment users planning to continue using it once shopping returns to pre-pandemic levels. Therefore, itâs no surprise that the gift card and payment solutions company, in conjunction with Giant Eagle, has partnered up with Paypal and Venmo to offer customers the ability to use the popular mobile payment methods at the register at all of the 474 Giant Eagle supermarket and GetGo locations, making the OâHara Township, PA-based retailer the first grocery and convenience store chain in the U.S. to do so.
“With mobile payments on the rise, it’s not just about consumers finding easy payment options, it’s also about ensuring that retailers and consumers are confident in using new payment tools and technologies,” said Brett Narlinger, head of global commerce at Blackhawk Network. “Helping our partners be first-to-market with these new digital payment offerings that are in high-demand is a critical innovation that our team at Blackhawk is proud to support.”
“Consumers have grown increasingly comfortable using digital payments in many different contexts over the past year including using touch free options for in-store purchases. By working with Giant Eagle and Blackhawk Network, we are able to bring this technology to their customers for their everyday purchases and provide added value to these consumers,” said Frank Keller, senior vice president of In-Store at PayPal. “This expansion of PayPal and Venmo digital payments into grocery and convenience stores propels our mission to bring easy, safe payments to consumers at any point in their shopping experience.”
September is National Hispanic Heritage Month and Safeway Mid-Atlantic is celebrating it from September 15 to October 15 by offering one-stop shopping options throughout its stores. Its grocery departments will be showcasing an expanded variety of key items such as La Bandarita tortillas, Maseca corn flour, a variety of rice and beans, snack and drink offerings including Inca Kola, maltas, coconut waters and juices, Jarritos soda, tostones, and plantain chips. The dairy and frozen selections will also be expanded to include fresh Hispanic cheeses and cremas and ready-to-eat frozen yuca and plantains. There will be produce specials for Hispanic fruits and vegetables such as avocadoes, mangoes, guavas, plantains, yuccas, and coconuts. Made-in-store tortilla chips, fresh-made salsas and guacamoles, and Rizo Brothers California Creameryâs traditional Hispanic cheeses will be highlighted in the deli area and the bakery department will feature tres leches cake (both slices and and full-sized ones) and a full line of Central and South American pastries.
âSafeway is pleased to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with delicious food offerings, which so often play an important role in holiday festivities,â said Safeway Mid-Atlantic division president Jim Perkins. âWe are proud to honor our customersâ and associatesâ rich and diverse Hispanic cultures and histories.â
September is also Hunger Action Month and to start off 30 days of activities that that the retailer is undertaking to help combat food insecurity in its community, The Giant Company (TGC) hosted its first ever Giant Grocery Grab on September 8. The event, which took place at one of its Harrisburg, PA locations, featured Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture secretary Russell Redding, Central Pennsylvania Food Bank executive director Joe Arthur, Harlem Globetrotter Darnell âSpeedyâ Artis, and Harrisburg influencer Sara Bozich, and representatives from Project SHARE, New Hope Ministries, and Downtown Daily Bread going head-to-head in a friendly shopping game competition to benefit central Pennsylvania hunger relief organizations. The participants, who were each paired with a TGC team member, played a challenging round of trivia centered around food and hunger in the Keystone State to earn time for a âshop âtil they dropâ spree around the store. The winner of the shopping competition received a Golden Shopping Carty trophy and each participating hunger relief organization received $15,000 as a surprise at the end of the event.
The kickoff was the first of several hunger donation, volunteer, and awareness activities that the Carlisle, PA-headquartered chain has planned throughout the month, including: a $400,000 donation to 20 partner food banks across its four-state company footprint; customer checkout round-up on purchases with the change supporting Feeding America and local food banks; 50 cents of each reusable bag purchased going to hunger action efforts; Stuff-A-Truck donation events at select store locations; and to celebrate Hunger Action Day on September 17, team members from Giant and Martinâs will participate in volunteer efforts with food bank partners. Additionally, TGC, in partnership with Unilever, Pepsico, and Quaker, will distribute 5,000 backpacks full of food to schoolchildren in the central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Hagerstown, MD communities. Also, to commemorate National Peanut Butter Day, the grocery chain will donate a jar of peanut butter to local partner hunger relief organizations for every 28-ounce jar of private label peanut butter purchased in its stores and online between September 10 to 16.
âWhile The Giant Company is committed to helping our local food banks and pantries provide meals to families in need year-round, Hunger Action Month is a time to spark increased awareness and leverage our partnerships to help drive significant change within our communities,â said Glennis Harris, TGCâs SVP-customer experience. âWhen families come together around the table, they should be connecting with one another, not worrying about where their next meal may come from.â
And on that note, I encourage all of you to do at least one action to address food insecurity this week, even if itâs as simple as donating extra food from your pantry to a hunger relief organization or buying a homeless person a sandwich, because as Vincent Van Gogh once said, âGreat things are done by a series of small things done together.â
Until next monthâŠ
Karen can be contacted via email at: [email protected]
