Geofencing tech allows faster curbside grocery pickup

A US grocery chain is using a location tracking platform that optimises contactless curbside pickup

Spotted: With the coronavirus pandemic showing no signs of abating, grocery chains have seen e-commerce sales skyrocket. In the US, many people place orders online for curbside pickup. But sales increases bring their own problems, in the form of long lines and crowds. Now, grocery chain Golden Eagle, which operates more than 200 supermarkets, has launched new location tracking technology to optimise contactless curbside pickup and reduce crowding.

Golden Eagle has partnered with Radius Network to use their FlyBuy Pickup location technology to optimise curbside and in-shop pickup. The FlyBuy platform is directly integrated into the Giant Eagle mobile app, and it sends supermarkets live alerts on estimated arrival times and customer locations in shop parking areas. This allows employees to have the order ready as soon as a customer arrives, minimising wait times. 

Golden Eagle is also adapting to the “new normal” by transforming three of its physical locations into dedicated curbside pickup centres for online orders. This has allowed supermarkets to double their online order capacity and increase efficiency.

According to 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 shops 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 coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the trend for ordering groceries online, either for pickup or delivery. We are seeing many innovations focusing on streamlining this process, and solving issues such as queuing and overcrowding. Recent innovations include a mobile queuing platform and an app that alerts users when shops are over-crowded.

Explore more: Food & Drink Innovations | COVID-19 Innovations