Giant Eagle aims to ‘extend aisles’ in online marketplace

Giant Eagle seeks an even bigger assortment in for the “endless aisles” in its Giant Eagle Marketplace e-commerce channel.

The Pittsburgh-based grocer has enlisted with online product discovery platform RangeMe to accelerate and scale sourcing of new and emerging products. Under the partnership, Giant Eagle aims to expand its offerings across the gamut of categories, including center-store grocery, gourmet food, household supplies, health and beauty aids, over-the-counter medicines, general merchandise, pet care, baby care, housewares, small appliances, vitamins and wellness, outdoor and lawn-and-garden, RangeMe said Wednesday.

“Giant Eagle Marketplace allows us to extend our aisles and assortments in our established online platform to offer brands and products that previously may not have been qualified or considered for shelf space,” Kyle Carrabine, Marketplace business development specialist at Giant Eagle. “Marketplace provides us a great way to curate local or regional items while also bringing in trending or emerging categories that many of our customer’s desire. Hopefully, it’s viewed as a launching point for partnerships and entry possibilities by new or emerging sellers, while also being a strategic area for growth or expansion by those who have been long-term vendor partners with Giant Eagle.”

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Giant Eagle aims to expand its online offerings across a breadth of categories, including center-store grocery, gourmet food, household supplies, health and beauty aids, and general merchandise, to name a few.

Targeted at both retail buyers and suppliers, RangeMe’s solution uses a dashboard to put thousands of products at buyers’ fingertips, making it easier to find and compare items. Automatic alerts are sent to buyers when new products meet their selection criteria. As a result, retail buyers can more efficiently source innovative new products and manage the inbound product submission process, according to the San Francisco-based company, part of ECRM. 

For suppliers, RangeMe provides wide access to retail buyers and added control over product marketing. Suppliers can upload details of their products to the platform for buyers to review. In addition, suppliers know when their products are being viewed and can receive feedback from buyers, while buyers can instantly contact suppliers of interest or track a product to be alerted of updates.

Specifically, Giant Eagle is looking for suppliers who have established drop-ship, direct-to-consumer capabilities to serve its five-state market area, RangeMe said. Overall, the retailer operates 474 food and convenience stores, including over 200 supermarkets, across western Pennsylvania, north central Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.

Related:Giant Eagle now takes PayPal, Venmo payment at checkout

Product submissions to the Giant Eagle Marketplace can be made through Sept. 27, and RangeMe said Giant Eagle isn’t putting a cap on the number of new suppliers it will on-board. 

“This is a tremendous opportunity for suppliers to work with such an amazing retailer like Giant Eagle,” commented Nicky Jackson, founder and CEO of RangeMe. “Our partnership is a perfect fit to drive the desired scope and scale of Giant Eagle Marketplace.”