What's The Proper Path For Better Payments?

How the pandemic and loyalty can help food retailers get a firmer handle on transactions.

- Thad Rueter

Key Takeaways

Fueled by the pandemic and the associated spike in grocery e-commerce, food retailers are embracing new forms of payment.

One way to eliminate food retail friction is to integrate a retailer’s loyalty program and other discounts with, for example, the digital wallet on a shopper’s mobile phone.

Major food retailers like Walgreens are beefing up their loyalty programs as payment methods grow more numerous and digital.

Just as the holiday season was getting in gear, CVS Pharmacy offered a glimpse at the future of payments in the food retail world and beyond.

The drug store chain launched a service enabling customers to check out touch-free using PayPal and Venmo QR codes at 8,200 stores. These codes allow customers to securely pay for their items without needing to touch a keypad or sign a receipt, while also being able to access multiple payment methods available in PayPal and Venmo wallets.

According to CVS, this made it the first national retailer to integrate PayPal and Venmo QR code technology in its point-of-sale experience at all stand-alone locations across the country. The touch-free experience will be available to existing PayPal and Venmo customers, while new customers can sign up and link their preferred payment method, usually within minutes.