PLEASANTON, Calif.,
Dec. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Holiday
shoppers are turning to gift cards more than ever
before1 this year, and with the surge in demand for
curbside service, can now quickly and easily add gift cards for
curbside pickup along with their groceries at 1,900 Kroger stores
across the country. The partnership between global branded payments
provider Blackhawk Network and Kroger leverages Blackhawk's On Demand Activation capabilities
to allow customers to add a gift card to their cart with any other
products they're purchasing. Upon picking up the order and
following easy instructions, the customer can activate the gift
card that they've purchased.
"We've seen huge increases this year in online shopping and
customers leveraging buy online, pick up curbside options, but
there hasn't been a way to include gift cards in that shopping
experience," said Brett Narlinger,
head of global commerce, Blackhawk Network. "Our new solution
offers a quick and seamless solve for that, providing customers a
new and contactless way to continue buying gift cards at grocery
while creating a new channel for retailers to engage and drive
revenue."
Online grocery sales are expected to grow 40% in
20202, and nearly a quarter of online shoppers report
preferring curbside or buy online, pick up in store options over
delivery. With a significant portion of the increase in online
grocery shopping expected to be permanent, curbside pickup
capabilities for gift cards will only become a more important
engagement and revenue channel for retailers.
"We're always looking for new, seamless ways to engage our
digital shoppers, especially with the rapid and widespread adoption
of curbside pickup in recent months," said Jarrod Cummins, Director of Prepaid Services,
Kroger. "Leveraging Blackhawk's On Demand Activation capabilities
to add gift cards to curbside pickup allowed us to
quickly adapt and innovate to shifting consumer behavior by
providing an engaging customer experience for shoppers anywhere
they shop—in-store or online."
Known for being a pioneer in bringing together disparate
payments and shopping experiences, including the creation of Gift
Card Mall™ in grocery, Blackhawk
continues to be a driving force in innovating the payment
experience and helping partners meet consumer demand. For more
information about Blackhawk's
capabilities, visit www.blackhawknetwork.com.
About Blackhawk Network
Blackhawk Network delivers
branded payment solutions through the prepaid products,
technologies and network that connect brands and people. We
collaborate with our partners to innovate, translating market
trends in branded payments to increase reach, loyalty and revenue.
Serving more than 28 countries, we reliably execute security-minded
solutions worldwide. Join us as we shape the future of global
branded payments. For more information, visit
blackhawknetwork.com.
About The Kroger Co.
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we
are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the
Human Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies,
nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million
customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a
variety of banner names. We are committed to creating
#ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us,
visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
1 The "2020
BrandedPay™ Holiday Shopping Preview"
report is based on the findings in our Holiday Gifting 2020 study,
an internet-based survey conducted by Leger on behalf of Blackhawk
Network between August 24-31.
2 Coresight Research U.S. Online Grocery
Survey 2020
MEDIA CONTACT:
Courtney
Brunkow
303.717.9575
courtney@fletchergroupllc.com
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SOURCE Blackhawk Network