FAIRFAX, Va. -- Exxon Mobil Corp. has entered into a partnership with Shopkick Inc., a location-based shopping app that rewards shoppers for walking into stores and interacting with products. This deal represents shopkick's entry into the retail petroleum and convenience store space.
Currently, shopkick is generating rewards at more than 375 Exxon- or Mobil-branded retail locations in and around Miami, New York City and Washington, D.C.
The pilot program is designed to help Exxon and Mobil branded retailers strengthen consumer loyalty by enhancing the shopping experience. ExxonMobil joins more than 11 national retailers and 40 major brand partners in shopkick's cross-retailer rewards program, including Target, Kraft, Best Buy, Procter & Gamble and American Eagle.
Rewards--called kicks--can be earned and used with participating retailers.
To provide high-value rewards to shoppers actually walking into stores, the shopkick app detects a shopkick signal, emitted from a patent-pending device located in each participating store and picked up by a shopper's smartphone handset. Because the store is focused on rewarding actual visitors, it then delivers "kicks" via the app, which can be collected at all participating partner store locations. Kicks are redeemed for in-store gift cards, song downloads, movie tickets, Facebook Credits, donations to 30 different causes and charities and more.
Because shopkick is able to accurately detect actual presence inside participating stores, partner retailers ensure that marketing dollars put into the shopkick program are being spent to reward customers who are physically present in the store, translating into higher value rewards for the shopper.
As previously reported in a CSP Daily News exclusive (see Related Content below), ExxonMobil hopes that shopkick will drive new foot traffic to their sites. It cited shopkick research showing that 44% of its users said they had been to a specific retailer more often since downloading the app, while 53% said they had bought something that they had not planned to buy.
"We understand that consumers have many choices when it comes to shopping for convenience items. Now, through shopkick we can express our appreciation to patrons as well as encourage them to keep coming back by rewarding them each time they visit," said Chris Mahoney, U.S. branded wholesale manager for ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Co., Fairfax, Va. "Additionally, this program supports ExxonMobil's value proposition, as we look to innovate and build our overall loyalty offerings, which already includes return and earn, a pump price rollback program, and program offers such as Speedpass and the ExxonMobil Personal Card."
Doug Galen, chief revenue officer of shopkick, said, "This is a great new retail vertical for us. Exxon- and Mobil-branded locations have many of the products we all buy. With shopkick's rewards, consumers will love the convenience of earning rewards at ExxonMobil pilot market locations and then the ability to spend those rewards at our participating retailers."
Launched in August 2010, shopkick is available for free on the iPhone from the App Store and on Android at Android Market.
Shopkick Inc. is a Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup funded by Kleiner Perkins' iFund, Greylock Partners and Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, and investor in Facebook and Zynga.
Houston-based ExxonMobil is the largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products.
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