WASHINGTON – Giant Eagle, who operates more than 200 supermarkets throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana, has launched FlyBuyⓇ Pickup, an innovative curbside pickup program that uses proprietary location technology to optimize curbside and in-store pickup for grocery stores, restaurants, and retailers. With an increasing number of customers opting for curbside pickup and home delivery during COVID-19, Giant Eagle has led the way with a powerful innovation in its curbside pickup service which included transitioning three physical locations to curbside pickup centers dedicated to servicing online orders.
Since the onset of COVID-19, online grocery sales are booming, five times larger than it was one year ago, with curbside pickup up over 150% (source). When the pandemic subsides, 75% of consumers that subscribe to multiple delivery services said they would likely continue to opt for curbside pickup. “Since the very beginning of this crisis, our partners have seen increased curbside pickup order volume with some of over 500%,” said Radius Networks’ Executive Vice President of Global Partnerships, Jeff Baskin. “We are excited to work with such an innovative grocer, like Giant Eagle, who understands the need for short-term solutions to help get through this time, but also has a long-term strategy as the trend for shoppers to move online will continue. FlyBuy Pickup creates efficiencies in-store that allow Giant Eagle to streamline and enhance the guest experience. In a post-Covid world, customers will continue to demand shorter wait times and a frictionless experience, which will be a necessity as curbside and BOPIS become the new normal for retailers moving forward.”
Giant Eagle’s eCommerce orders have exploded over the last 6 months, with Giant Eagle Curbside Pickup orders increasing exponentially. With the FlyBuy mobile SDK directly integrated in the Giant Eagle mobile application, it provides a branded, frictionless experience for their guests. Using location services only related to the order experience, the FlyBuy Pickup technology accurately predicts the guest’s estimated time of arrival, and sends alerts to the store along the way, so store Team Members can properly prioritize order fulfillment and have an order ready as soon as a guest arrives, significantly decreasing wait times and helping busy retail Team Members work more efficiently.
“The FlyBuy platform helps us better manage the influx of Giant Eagle Curbside Pickup orders being placed,” said Giant Eagle’s Vice President eCommerce Operations, Valery Ciarimboli. “Knowing our guests’ ETA and receiving live location updates and arrival alerts has transformed our curbside program for both our Team Members working hard in the store fulfilling orders, and for our guests who want a speedy pickup experience. Having a system in place that enables us to ensure an order is ready and waiting when a customer pulls up is essential to our goal of meeting the increased demand with efficiency.”
To learn more, visit http://www.flybuypickup.com.
About FlyBuy
The FlyBuy location platform, by Radius Networks, uses proprietary location technology to help companies deliver a frictionless customer experience and drive location-based transactions. The platform includes FlyBuy Pickup for optimizing customer curbside and in-store pickup; FlyBuy Tableside to improve the speed of ordering and service in-store; FlyBuy Pay to conduct contactless payments and streamline the checkout and payment process; and FlyBuy Drive-Thru for automating pickup in the drive-thru lane.
About Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle, Inc., ranked among the top 40 on Forbes magazine’s largest private corporations list, is one of the nation’s largest food retailers and distributors with approximately $10 billion in annual sales. Founded in 1931, Giant Eagle, Inc. has grown to be a leading food, fuel and pharmacy retailer in the region with more than 470 stores throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.
