Dive Brief:

• Giant Eagle removed the ability for customers to use its scan-and-go shopping app at five stores earlier this week, the grocery chain wrote in an email Thursday.
• “At Giant Eagle, we are always evaluating the services and offerings that are in place as we work to best serve our customers. Unfortunately, Scan Pay Go is not a well-utilized shopping method in every location,” according to an emailed statement from the grocer.
• The change comes at a time when grocers are evaluating tech innovations aimed at streamlining the in-store shopping experience for customers.

Dive Insight:

While scan-and-go is leaving some of Giant Eagle’s stores, the company is electing to keep the service in other locations. 

Effective Monday, the grocery chain removed the service from four stores in Pittsburgh and one in Columbus, Ohio. Giant Eagle did not say how many remaining stores will offer scan-and-go.

“At this time, we do not have plans to remove the service from any additional locations,” the company said in the statement. “We understand that convenience is an important factor when it comes to grocery shopping and invite customers to consider our other time-saving services like our curbside pickup or home delivery options.”

To use the grocer’s Scan Pay Go app, customers scan items with their phone, bag as they shop, track their spending and take advantage of coupons, loyalty rewards and sale pricing. For items that need to be weighed, customers can use scale stations. For age-restricted items, the app will prompt customers to show identification at checkout.

To pay, users can use dedicated Scan Pay Go lanes or self-checkout, according to the grocery chain’s website. The grocer notes that it may randomly check orders for accuracy.

Giant Eagle has offered mobile scan-and-go since at least 2018. It is one of several apps that Giant Eagle currently offers customers, including separate Giant Eagle and GetGo apps as well as one for its pharmacy operations.

Other grocers have taken similar moves to recalibrate in-store technology for customers. Wegmans ended its scan-and-go shopping app in mid-2022 due to “losses” it was incurring from the service.

Earlier this spring, Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh stores in the U.S. said they are pulling out Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology as their parent company instead focuses on ramping up its Dash Carts in Amazon Fresh stores and offering the smart carts to other grocers.