NORFOLK, Va. -- Outsite Networks Inc. has launched a new initiative that the company said will assist retailers in lowering credit card fees.
The Outsite Networks In-Touch loyalty marketing system allows a retailer to offer various incentives for different methods of payment. By offering these incentives such as double points for cash, debit or oil company cards, a retailer can influence consumers to use those targeted method of payments. This helps retailers in their battle to lower rising credit card fees, said the firm.
High [image-nocss] fuel prices have impacted both credit card fees and usage, becoming one of the largest expense items for a convenience retailer. Processing fees have risen by more than 60% in the past year with the price of gasoline. Also, larger transaction sizes have increased credit card usage among consumers. The problem has become such a big issue that a group of retailers have recently filed suit against the major credit card interchange companies.
Outsite Networks president and CEO Anton Bakker said, Rising credit card fees continue to have a major impact on retailer profitability. By using our system to give incentives based on method of payments, a retailer can influence consumer behavior and substantially reduce his credit card fee expense.
Incentives can be changed and promoted in real-time using the company's In-Touch loyalty marketing system. In-Touch allows a convenience retailer to promote the payment incentives at the pump by using Mp3 audio messages. This real-time capability impacts thousands of consumers that pay at the pump and never come in the store. Also, the system can be used to give incentive to consumers who sign up for oil company cards.
Our company continues to focus on the big issues in the industry said Bakker. With our system, a retailer can influence customer loyalty, reduce credit card fees and stop driveoffs.
H Norfolk, Va.-based Outsite Networks' In-Touch loyalty marketing system technology is used by more than 50 retailers to operate loyalty programs at more than 700 sites, it said. The company's technology allows retailers to offer consumers real-time incentives and 1:1 audio messages at the pump based on consumer purchase history, basket and demographics. The technology currently supports more than one million program members, has issued more than six million rewards and plays more than 25 million audio messages to consumers every month, Outsite Networks added.
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