CHICAGO — More convenience stores are enabling contactless checkout in the store and at the pump to move customers in and out faster and to put them in contact with fewer surfaces.
Many contactless checkout adopters have planned to implement the technology since before the coronavirus pandemic. Giant Eagle and its GetGo convenience arm, for instance, announced plans to implement Grabango’s frictionless service in 2019. C-stores are seizing the moment, however, and launching the technology during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click through for four examples of convenience retail’s move toward contactless checkout …
Circle K is launching Mastercard’s new frictionless checkout product for convenience stores and other retailers, Shop Anywhere. In addition to Shop Anywhere, Mastercard is launching a suite of contactless payment and frictionless checkout platforms, including AI Powered Drive Through.
Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, Circle K’s parent company, is No. 2 on CSP’s 2020 Top 202 ranking of c-stores by store count.
ExxonMobil has made paying for fuel through voice commands with Amazon's Alexa possible at more than 11,500 stations in the United States. Customers with Alexa-enabled vehicles, Alexa-enabled devices like Echo Auto, or simply the Alexa app on Android or iOS, can now pay for fuel with the command, “Alexa, Pay for Gas.”
Once at an Exxon or Mobil station, drivers say the command phrase. Alexa will confirm the station location and the pump number, and then activate the pump. The customer can then select the fuel grade on the pump and begin fueling.
Irving, Texas-based ExxonMobil has approximately 11,500 Exxon- and Mobil-branded gas stations and convenience stores in the United States.
Giant Eagle's GetGo Cafe and Market is launching checkout-free technology from Grabango. The first Giant Eagle location to make Grabango available is a GetGo store in Fox Chapel, Pa., which serves the greater Pittsburgh area.
To get started, shoppers download the free Grabango app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Once shoppers have the app, they may enter the store and shop normally. There is no check-in required or turnstile. When they are finished in the store, shoppers scan the code in their Grabango app on the way out. Afterwards, they receive a digital receipt in the app.
GetGo is No. 30 on CSP’s 2020 Top 202 list.
Consumers using Chevron and Texaco mobile apps can now add Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover as linked payment methods. Coupled with the Chevron- and Texaco-branded cards and PayPal and Venmo options already available, Chevron’s mobile app wallet presents multiple payment options to choose from.
Chevron’s ExtraMile stores are No. 9 in CSP’s 2020 Top 202 list.
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