Bitcoin Goes Bananas: Lolli Adds Safeway Groceries To Your BTC List

Lolli delivered some exciting news today for Bitcoin adoption, with the launch of a rewards partnership with Albertson’s Companies subsidiary, Safeway.

Lolli users who buy their groceries online at Safeway.com can receive 3.5% back in bitcoin (BTC) on all their purchases. This is a the first collaboration between a major grocery chain and a bitcoin rewards company in the United States.

Lolli CEO Alex Adelman said he was extremely proud of establishing the partnership with one of the most well-recognized food retailers in America. “Americans are already shopping for groceries at least once a week,” he said. “[W]hy not earn some bitcoin off those frequent purchases?”

Anticipating a new avenue for adoption, Adelman said the new partnership may open up bitcoin ownership to an entirely new demographic, saying the agreement will “allow people who are already buying their groceries online, the option to get involved in holding and owning bitcoin — perhaps for the first time.” 

With 894 stores largely concentrated in the western United States, Safeway allows customers to shop online for delivery or pick-up and offers a selection of goods in produce, beauty, and pharmacy.

If you prefer not to spend your Bitcoin on groceries, Lolli also offers high Bitcoin rebates at other stores, including 9% at Sonos or 6.5% at Marriott. To start earning bitcoin when you shop online, you can sign-up for a Lolli account at Lolli.com.

(We choose not to use referral links on our website, but they’ll offer you one for sharing it around.)

I tested the Chrome extension, which comes with the usual ominous warning that “This extension can read and change data on websites you visit”, and found that it appeared to work as advertised. (Lolli notes that ‘We wish that browser extensions provided more granular permissions, but unfortunately they do not.’)

Clicking from the list of stores on the Lolli.com website immediately activated the Bitcoin discount; visiting organically without going through their site resulted in a pop-up that asked if we wanted to activate it. Smooth.

I tried Walmart’s store, picking up the Cornetto Trilogy on Blu-Ray (because, obviously) as well as a copy of Horrible Bosses, because… look no excuses, I like the movie.

Only after paying did I note that some of the exclusion clauses brought the Bitcoin reward down to 0.5% on movies. After reviewing the FAQ, I also noted that “We cannot guarantee rewards for purchases made on Brave due to its built-in ad blockers.”

So I may have acted in haste. You might want to review those FAQ’s before you drop $600 on cantaloupes at Safeway.

Overall the experience was surprisingly polished. I’ll check my profile again later (possibly much later – the FAQ’s also say that “The time this takes varies by merchant and is typically 30-90 days after your completed booking or initial purchase” to see if Brave did indeed block my Bitcoin reward… or if I’m a sat-isfied customer.

Ooh, look at this one! Can I?

Note: we do not accept advertising or sponsored stories – this brief review was purely driven by the skeptic in me – Jon Rice.

UPDATE: 7/27/19

Ha!

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