Tag Archives: grocery

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Google Pay Adds Grocery and Transit Service Deals

Google Pay is already a popular mobile payment system, as it supports wireless payments on various Android-enabled devices. It is flexible enough to work on any Android-powered tablet, phone, or watch. It uses a secure approach to paying that can link to a credit card or another payment source.

Google Pay isn’t done evolving, as it is partnering with various grocery store chains to offer more benefits for customers who shop with this digital wallet app. Google Pay is partnering with the Target department store and the Safeway grocery chain to offer grocery deals. It is also working with various transit companies in the United States to offer more affordable and convenient ways for users to purchase tickets.

The new development is the latest move from Google Pay to become more convenient and useful for work needs. Google Pay has been expanding its options for how it works while staying competitive with Apple Pay and other competing solutions.

Grocery Support

The first part of Google Pay’s update is to help customers find the best deals on purchases at Target and Safeway grocery stores. The update will work for all Target locations around the United States. It will also run at many Safeway locations across the country. These include Albertsons, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Vons, Pavilions, and Jewel-Osco locations in different areas.

The new Google Pay update allows app users to browse Safeway and Target’s weekly circulars. These features will highlight the latest deals these stores offer.

Google Pay can also recommend different deals from each circular. It can identify prior purchases and one’s preferences to find the best deals.

Google Pay will also notify users of weekly deals when they are near participating stores. The feature works when the device reads the customer’s location. It automatically sends details on the deals available in that location, giving the customer the details one needs before shopping.

What makes this development noteworthy is that in-store shopping hasn’t been as popular as of late. The global pandemic has prompted people to look at online shopping, including digital shopping where people can get their grocery items delivered to their homes. The location-based system Google Pay will likely face a challenge as people might not be willing to return to in-person shopping as soon. But the risk of in-person shopping has been dropping as vaccination rates rise, making it possible that the new move from Google Pay could be more successful than people expect.

Transit Support

Another part of the Google Pay update involves helping people buy transit tickets in moments. Google Pay will help customers buy transit tickets in more than eighty cities around the United States.

People can use Google Pay to search for transit tickets and to buy them with their Google Pay accounts. People can then load their tickets on their apps and use them to board whatever buses, trains, or other transit services they wish to use.

Google Pay transit feature will now work in Chicago and the San Francisco area. The move comes not long after Apple Pay announced its support for the Clipper transit card for Bay Area Rapid Transit services in the San Francisco area.

The Google Pay customer will hold one’s device up to a reader to board the bus or train service. A visual ticket may be necessary if there are no readers available.

Google Pay also uses Token Transit integration to help people pay for public transit services in smaller towns around the United States and Canada. Token Transit lets people search for bus agencies around the country. People can choose whatever passes they need and specify how much time they will require. The system supports various bus transit services in many smaller communities.

Part of an Ongoing Expansion

The new features on Google Pay are part of the app’s ongoing expansion to provide more services and solutions for payment needs. Google Pay facilitates contactless payments, plus it can track a person’s finances. The app even introduced the Plex system as a partnership with major banks to help people keep track of their bank accounts and funds while on the go.

Google Pay is still changing to offer more things. It is working to produce more detailed insights and analysis reports on how people spend their money and how they research things of value. These reports can come from whatever purchases someone makes through Google Pay, including details on what one spends and what specific stores one visits. The insights will help customers find deals on whatever they are more likely to find at stores.

Competition Is Critical

The hope for Google Pay is that it will continue to expand to offer more things of value. But there are some contenders who are trying to capture some of Google Pay’s momentum. These include entities that go well beyond Apple Pay, including a few that have become highly prominent in their own right.

PayPal is hoping to update its app to make it more thorough and comprehensive. PayPal’s app has been updated to support QR code payments that are easy to follow. PayPal can also support buy-now-pay-later transactions, plus it can support some cryptocurrencies.

Facebook also has plans to produce a competitor to Google Pay. Novi, a program formerly known as Calibra, will support full integration of all Facebook programs. These include the WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Kustomer platforms. The setup allows people to pay for more items and to access various things of value. The app will also potentially link to the Diem cryptocurrency that Facebook is planning, although it is unclear when Diem would be made available.

The competition will likely prompt Google Pay to advance and evolve further. Google Pay has already become a popular choice for payments, and its new efforts in facilitating transit payments and in helping people find shopping deals are proof that the app is still changing.

HEB Consumers Can Now Pay With SNAP EBT For H-E-B Curbside, Home Delivery

San Antonio-based grocery company H-E-B has recently announced that all of its stores will now accept SNAP EBT (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefit Transfer) payments directly via its mobile app or website, www.heb.com, for all curbside and home delivery orders.

The Process – HEB.com

To do so, customers need to already have or sign up for a SNAP EBT account. Customers input their SNAP EBT information into their H-E-B account on their website, heb.com, or through the My H-E-B app. After the registration is done, customers can place their orders.

During checkout, they can choose the SNAP EBT option where they simply need to enter their PIN. Electronic Benefits Transfer, or EBT, is an electronic system designed to enable a SNAP participant to pay for their food order using the benefits offered by SNAP.

However, for items or payments not eligible on SNAP EBT, one would need a debit or credit card. The company offers options for making payments using gift cards as well. One can view their SNAP EBT card balance by logging into the My H-E-B app or at heb.com. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices and is easily accessible from mobile phones or tablets.

To ensure you are buying SNAP-eligible items at HEB, you can use the filter function while doing a product search. Moreover, one can also check which items are SNAP-eligible on their online shopping cart, which gives a clear indication of the same. The contactless payment option is available at all the curbside and delivery store locations of H-E-B.

This announcement made by the grocery giant on Friday, 18 December 2020, in a news release, has made it easier for consumers to make contactless digital payments for their food or grocery orders, both for curbside or home delivery.

Currently, the grocery chain has over 230 stores having curbside services. Further, the company is planning to expand across over 20 more locations in the state by the end of 2021. The company also added that most of those locations providing curbside services will be offering home delivery facilities as well.

As per the statements of the vice president of H-E-B digital commerce operations, Esther Castelo, this is one of the most essential initiatives that their team has come up with. He further said that the team members are excited to offer their customers this convenience.

According to Texas Health and Human Services, the total number of benefit cases associated with SNAP food purchases was higher than 131,000 in the previous month of November. The best thing about H-E-B is that they provide either same-day or next-day curbside pickup services, in which the stores load the customers’ vehicles with their groceries. This service carries a $4.95 personal shopper charge.

Further, all curbside orders are made free for those who have placed their orders more than 2 days out. And the company will charge a delivery fee of $5 for all home delivery orders. You can place your home delivery or curbside orders seven days in advance.

This new feature is considered a part of the company’s expansion of the SNAP EBT facility, which H-E-B implemented as a pilot to some of its locations in May.

Under the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot, which was launched by FNS (Food and Nutrition Service) of the US Department of Agriculture, 46 states as well as the District of Columbia are now allowing SNAP beneficiaries to purchase and pay for food and groceries digitally. The retailers participating in this program include Amazon, Walmart, ShopRite, and Aldi, among many others.

SNAP food benefits are included onto a Lone Star Card, and is designed to help people having budget constraints. These cards let people meet certain program rules, such as work rules and income limits.

Previously, H-E-B has said that it will carry the COVID-19 vaccine after it is made available at its pharmaceutical chains, and will distribute it to the public.

In fact, the grocery brand began to foresee the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic on their industry. Many of its stores started to see much reduced traffic since the lockdown restrictions were declared worldwide. The issue was more prominently seen by mid-April when the company was experiencing initial supply issues.

It also gave rise to the number of digital app use cases among the audience willing to purchase food and groceries, which are the daily essentials. According to research, food was seen as the number one pick to make expenses after federal stimulus funds were distributed to Americans during the early days of the pandemic outbreak.

Meal kit businesses emerged victorious from the crisis, especially when restaurants were closing their doors. Following this trend, the supermarkets like HEB attempted to sell pre-made meals to their consumers.

About H-E-B (and HEB.com)

H-E-B is an American supermarket chain based in the City of San Antonio, Texas. Today, it has more than 340 stores in 150+ communities spread across the state and in northeast Mexico.

As per the 2014 revenue reports, H-E-B was ranked the 20th largest retailer in the US. The grocer donates 5% of its annual pre-tax earnings to charity in and around its store locations. The common institutions the company distributes the money to include educational institutions and food banks.

H-E-B was founded on 26 November 1905 by Florence Butt, who first opened the C.C. Butt Grocery Store at her Kerrville family home. She opened the store with her savings of $60 by realizing her need to support her poor family. The current CEO of the brand is Charles Butt, who inherited his family business in 1971.

The H-E-B Plus team aims to cater to the unique needs of the different lifestyles followed by the people of Texas. HEB is known for selling and delivering a range of services, including fruits and vegetables, bakery products, meat and seafood items, dairy products, pantry items, deli and prepared foods, frozen foods, beverages, health and beauty products, everyday essentials, baby foods and healthcare products, home and outdoor decor items, pet supplies, etc.

The company also has provisions for allowing its visitors to make charity donations of their choice with a minimum of one dollar.

HEB H-E-B and HEB.com