PITTSBURGH — GetGo convenience stores and parent company Giant Eagle Inc. are adopting frictionless checkout technology from Grabango.
“Giant Eagle is committed to advancing technologies that create an improved, stress-free shopping experience for our customers while still protecting their privacy,” said Dan Donovan, Giant Eagle’s director of corporate communications. “In Grabango, we have found a partner who shares our commitment and who can help us bring this enhanced experience to life.”
Grabango’s platform has been installed at a pilot Giant Eagle location and multiple executions of the payment technology are being optimized. Shoppers who have prearranged to pay through an app can simply walk out after they finish in the store. Others are presented with options on how they wish to pay. Either way, a customer does not need their items scanned at any point in the process.
Grabango’s system is truly frictionless, meaning customers do not have to scan each individual item as they grab them. The system uses machine learning and computer vision—but not facial recognition—to track which and how many items each customer selects. Also, Grabango does not require customers to have a membership at the store or to check in through a turnstile as they do with Amazon Go. Customers enter and begin shopping.
“Giant Eagle has been a fantastic partner on this groundbreaking project,” said Will Glaser, Grabango's CEO. “We are excited to be announcing our first checkout-free partnership with a major U.S. retailer. Together, we are offering a technology that is seamless and equitable for all.”
Berkeley, Calif.-based Grabango’s frictionless checkout system is optimized for large-scale stores but is viable for most any retail format.
Pittsburgh-based GetGo, grocer Giant Eagle’s convenience division, ranked No. 28 in CSP’s 2019 Top 202 list of the largest c-store chains in the United States. Founded in 1931, Giant Eagle has more than 460 stores in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. It also owns the Ricker's c-store chain in Indiana.
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