The Friday Checkout is a weekly column providing more insight on the news, rounding up the announcements you may have missed and sharing what’s to come.
Walmart’s decision last week to start letting shoppers tap their cards or phones to make purchases calls to mind the time more than a decade ago when the nation’s largest retailer threw its weight behind chip-based payment technology. But while Walmart was an early adopter and vocal proponent of that groundbreaking payment system, the company held out for years before finally joining the tap-to-pay revolution.
Walmart’s reluctance to add tap-to-pay was even more confounding given the enormous popularity of systems like Apple Pay and Google Pay, which rely on the same near-field communications gear that lets tap-to-pay credit and debit cards function. The fact that Walmart is a leader in other high-profile tech arenas, such as e-commerce, robotics and AI, only adds to the intrigue.
Look closer, however, and the logic behind Walmart’s resistance to tap-to-pay starts to come into focus. At the same time as it championed chip-based cards — which the payments industry developed to combat fraud — Walmart was also busy pushing its proprietary Walmart Pay app. That system, which uses QR codes on smartphones to authenticate transactions, allows Walmart to stay at the center of transactions instead of ceding control to third parties — a huge advantage it has understandably sought to keep.
In addition, Walmart is a major investor in OnePay, a fintech startup launched in 2021 whose services are central to the retailer’s consumer financial services business. OnePay has also shunted shoppers to QR codes to pay for Walmart purchases — so it’s no surprise that the firm announced expanded support for Apple Pay on the same day Walmart finally endorsed tap-to-pay.
Walmart is describing its sudden embrace of chip-to-pay as a way to give shoppers added choice and convenience. But the bottom line seems to be that after holding out for so long, it had no other option.
In case you missed it
Ahold Delhaize names another new CEO
Ahold Delhaize announced Thursday that its supervisory board nominated Margaret Versteden-Van Duijn as the next CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia as well as a member of the company’s management board. Versteden-Van Duijn, currently brand president of Ahold Delhaize’s Dutch brands Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall, has been with the company since 2015 and is expected to step into the CEO role later this year.
Versteden-Van Duijn’s nomination is the third CEO change Ahold Delhaize has ushered in so far this year. In June, the grocery company’s board nominated Claire Peters, a former Amazon grocery executive, to serve as CEO of Ahold Delhaize USA, effective Sept. 8, pending shareholder approval. Just a month earlier, Ahold Delhaize President and CEO Frans Muller announced his retirement, and the company’s board nominated Thierry Garnier to serve as the next CEO. Garnier is expected to step into the role in April 2027.
Giant names new HR exec
The Giant Company announced Tuesday that it named Jim Saccary vice president of human resources. Saccary is now charged with all human resources functions, including team member relations, learning and development, recruitment, total rewards, and talent and culture.
Saccary has spent his entire 30-year career within parent company ADUSA in various human resources roles. Most recently, he was ADUSA’s vice president of business services, according to the press release.
Town & Country Markets welcomes new board members
The family-owned independent grocer announced Monday it named three new members to its board of directors — Jennifer Daquiz Hare, Leslie Rice and Ed Nakata. Town & Country Markets noted that Nakata also serves as president of the grocer’s Family Council, which helps connect the family shareholder group with the board and company leadership.
Impulse find
Let them eat cake, delivered right to your door
Instacart announced Wednesday an expanded offering through Costco allowing shoppers to order custom cakes from the warehouse retailer through Instacart’s marketplace as well as sameday.costco.com, according to a press release.
Shoppers can select custom sheet cakes and 10-inch round cakes. They can also fully customize their cakes online and order them in advance.
But a party isn’t only about the cake (if you can believe that).
Along with their custom creation, customers can get classic party platters delivered, from sandwich platters to fruit platters to shrimp trays, per the announcement.
