SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Supermarket retailer Price Chopper has announced that it is changing the way its Fuel AdvantEdge promotion works and adding some enhancements to the Price Chopper Value program. Beginning May 13, customers will earn 10 cents off per gallon for every $100 spent with their AdvantEdge card. Prior to that date, they have earned 10 cents off per gallon for every $50 spent.
Price Chopper knew some customers would be disappointed by its decision to scale back its popular gas discount program. "As much as customers tell us they like Fuel AdvantEdge, they like saving money directly on their food bill even more. We've turned down the volume on Fuel AdvantEdge so we can turn up the value on food pricing," spokesperson Mona Golub told The Business Review.
"Certainly, we expected a percentage of our customer base to express their disappointment over the pending change to Fuel AdvantEdge, but we hope that they'll take a good look at the weekly and extended savings opportunities on food that we'll be offering going forward and consider the value of the tradeoff," she said. "We recognize that we're taking a risk, but given that it's in response to what the majority of our customers tell us they want most--a lower food bill--we think it's a risk worth taking."
All rewards will continue to be cumulative and can still be redeemed across the rest of the month in which they are earned plus 60 days. There are no other changes to the promotion, though plans are in place to feature a significantly increased number of opportunities in the weekly circular to help customers earn bonus fuel rewards, through sale product tie-ins and "double points" sales. For Price Chopper, a "promotional merchant" that continually introduces new and different ways for its customers to save, the longevity of the Fuel AdvantEdge promotion, which was first tested in the chain's Watertown store back in 2007, makes it an anomaly, it said.
"Fuel AdvantEdge is the longest-running and most successful promotion we've ever put out there," said Neil Golub, the chain's executive chairman.
"Our customers have saved more than $250 million dollars on their gas since we began this promotion, and we're pleased to offer fuel discounts that will continue to help our customers save money. But as much as they tell us they like Fuel AdvantEdge, they like saving money directly on their food bill even more," he said regarding the change.
Price Chopper has begun to layer in several "new and enhanced" savings programs over the last two weeks, all of which will be fully implemented in stores and in the circular on May 13. "Price Chopped" tags will call attention to a new savings program that offers extended four-week, eight-week and 12-week long deals on more than 3,000 seasonally relevant fresh, frozen and packaged products throughout the store. "Every Day Low Price" tags will reflect prices that have been lowered for even longer periods of time on thousands of additional staples. More deeply discounted ad features and weekly "Price Breaks" will be offered than ever before.
And, in response to the "soaring" demand for coupons, the chain has beefed up the quantity, value and variety of its exclusive coupon-generating offers at the register and through the iSave kiosk, AdvantEdge e-coupons, e-mail, Facebook and direct mail.
Once the new programs are implemented, Price Chopper will have lowered the prices on more than 10,000 of the products that customers need, want and buy most, it said. It will continue to offer its other well-established ways to save--AdvantEdge and Limited Time Only specials, double coupons up to 99 cents, "Choppertunity" Buys and accepting competitor's coupons.
"We can't control the volatility of fuel pricing, but we can leverage more control over the cost of food pricing," said Jerry Golub, Price Chopper's president and CEO, "which is exactly what we're doing by lowering thousands of prices throughout the store and giving our customers more ways to lower their food bill, while continuing to offer Fuel AdvantEdge rewards on every purchase they make in our stores."
Price Chopper is also using its Facebook page to respond directly to customers and continue explaining the rationale for the change, the Business Review said. "Fuel AdvantEdge is still the longest-running promotion we have ever had and it has saved our customers over $250 million since its inception," the company wrote in one post. "Please give us a chance to show you all the ways to save with the prices coming down all over our store and hotter ad prices than ever before."
Based in Schenectady, N.Y., the Golub Corp. owns and operates 128 Price Chopper grocery stores in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
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