Giant Eagle has partnered with FlyBuy Pickup by Radius Networks to launch a new and improved contactless curbside pickup experience for all stores where Giant Eagle Curbside Pickup is available. The proprietary location technology optimizes the experience by letting supermarkets, as well as restaurants and other retailers, know exactly when a shopper is going to arrive. 

Giant Eagle has made a number of innovative changes during COVID-19, with three physical locations’ transition to curbside pickup centers dedicated to servicing online orders. 

“The FlyBuy platform helps us better manage the influx of Giant Eagle Curbside Pickup orders being placed,” said Valery Ciarimboli, Giant Eagle’s VP e-commerce operations. “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.”

The FlyBuy mobile SDK is directly integrated into the Giant Eagle mobile application, providing a branded, frictionless experience for shoppers. Using location services only related to the order experience, the FlyBuy Pickup technology accurately predicts the customer’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 customer arrives, significantly decreasing wait times and helping employees  work more efficiently.

“Since the very beginning of this crisis, our partners have seen increased curbside pickup order volume with some of over 500%,” said Jeff Baskin, EVP of global partnerships at Washington, D.C.-based Radius Networks. “We are excited to work with such an innovative grocer [as] 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.” 

Giant Eagle operates more than 470 stores throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. The Pittsburgh-based company is No. 39 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food retailers in North America.