Giant Eagle has become the first grocery and convenience store retailer to enable PayPal and Venmo transactions at checkout, according to card and digital payment specialist Blackhawk Network.
All 474 Giant Eagle supermarket and GetGo fuel/convenience store locations now accept PayPal online and Venmo mobile payments by allowing shoppers to scan QR codes at checkout, Pleasanton, Calif.-based Blackhawk said Thursday. The retailer partnered with Blackhawk to integrate the two digital payment options — PayPal owns the Venmo mobile payment service — in its stores.
“We are thrilled to be the first supermarket and convenience chain in the country to accept PayPal and Venmo in our stores,” Graham Watkins, executive vice president of retail innovation and business development at Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle, said in a statement. “This implementation is particularly exciting as it enables Giant Eagle and GetGo customers to use the digital payment methods that they already enjoy in the places where they transact most frequently.”
To use the new payment services at checkout, Giant Eagle and GetGo customers open the PayPal or Venmo mobile apps, click the “scan” button and select the “show to pay” option. PayPal users pay via stored debit or credit cards, bank accounts, their PayPal balance or PayPal credit. With Venmo QR codes, shoppers pay through stored debit or credit cards, bank account, their Venmo balance or Venmo credit card.
To use the new payment services, GetGo and Giant Eagle customers open the PayPal or Venmo mobile apps and scan a QR code at checkout.
A Blackhawk Network survey conducted earlier this year by Leger found that 59% of consumers have been using their digital wallet more often than before the COVID-19 pandemic. And of digital payment options, 48% of respondents reported using QR codes and barcodes on a mobile device more frequently over the past year.
“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,” according to 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.”
Digital wallets and payments also are boosting shopper loyalty, as 63% of consumers said they’re more likely to shop at a retailer that accepts the digital payment tools they use, Blackhawk’s study revealed. What’s more, 73% want to be able to pay the same way they pay online and in-store. PayPal represents the top digital payment tool they aim to use in 2021, with 60% of digital payment users saying they plan to continue using PayPal when shopping returns to pre-pandemic levels.
“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,” stated Frank Keller, senior vice president of in-store at San Jose, Calif.-based 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.”
Giant Eagle’s 474 stores, including more than 200 supermarkets, are located across western Pennsylvania, north central Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.
