AKRON, Ohio -- It's not unusual to see a coupon worth 75 cents off your next box of cookies. You can get a loyalty card that gives you a free cup of coffee after you buy 10 at the regular price. Nobody gets too excited about those deals anymore, according to a report in the Akron Beacon Journal. But offer 10 cents a gallon off gasoline, and the public gets juiced.
Just ask the folks at Giant Eagle grocery stores and their gasoline-pumping associates at GetGo. They doubled the value of their fuelperks discount program and saw a significant jump [image-nocss] in store sales and more than 1,000 new customers sign up for the company's Advantage Card loyalty program, according to the report.
It was enough to become the envy of competitor gasoline stations. Holland Oil Co. in the Akron area and Bell Stores in Stark County have taken notice and are looking at setting up similar programs. Enon, Ohio-based Speedway has already set up a link with Marc's stores to launch a gasoline incentive program.
There is an emotional connection to gasoline that goes beyond the dollar value (of the discounts), and that is something I think you can see in how the GetGo program works, Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the National Association of Convenience Stores, told the newspaper.
For the GetGo program, customers who get an Advantage Card and buy $50 from a Giant Eagle store now through Sept. 6 get 20 cents a gallon off on their next trip to GetGo by swiping their Advantage Card when they pay. After Sept. 6, the deal will drop back to 10 cents a gallon.
Customer also can buy gift cards for places such as Kohl's, Best Buy or Olive Garden at Giant Eagle and put the cost toward fuelperks. Every $50 spent gets another 10 cents a gallon off.
Speedway and Marc's run their loyalty card more simply. Customers buy a $25 gas card at Marc's, use it like a credit card at a Speedway pump, and save 10 cents a gallon. The goal is to spur more foot traffic in the stores and keep customers coming back.
And gasoline seems to generate interest in a special way, Rob Borella, director of marketing and corporate communication for Giant Eagle, told the newspaper. I think it's more of a psychological thing with customers, he said. Some just like to redeem as they go, and others like to save up to see if they can get a free tank or close to it.
Meanwhile, competitors are moving in the same direction.
We're well down the road toward a program later this year, John Ballard of Holland Oil told the newspaper.
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