Blackhawk Network Partners With Kroger To Give Shoppers Contactless One-Stop Shop For Gifts And Groceries With Gift Card Curbside Pickup, At Home Activation

Nation's largest grocery retailer to leverage Blackhawk On Demand Activation capability for curbside gift card pickup at 1,900 stores

Pleasanton, CA /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