Digital Ranking Profile: Maverik Inc. (November 2017)
By Jackson Lewis on Nov. 14, 2017SALT LAKE CITY --CSP Daily News continues its series examining the ranking of the digital capabilities of the convenience-store industry’s largest and most influential chains.
This month’s featured profile is Maverik, placed at No. 10 with an overall score of 1.93 as of Nov. 14, 2017. The ranking platform is managed by Stuzo, a digital-product-innovation company focused on the convenience-store and fuel-retail industry with headquarters in Philadelphia.
The ranking covers 100 c-store chains, measuring each chain’s digital presence, including mobile commerce, mobile employee activation, connected car, website and social media. Each company is ranked on a points-based system with a score of 0 to 5 for each metric. Each metric is calculated using four more specific metrics. While this article examines the details behind the Maverik ranking, it is meant more as a profile than an attempt to compare it to competitors.
Click through for details on where Maverik stands in Stuzo’s C-Store Digital Ranking and information on the brand’s digital capabilities …
Mobile Commerce: 1.25
Maverik’s overall score for mobile commerce is 1.25. Here’s how it breaks down:
App Performance: 3
Mobile Payment: 0
Loyalty Program: 2
Mobile Ordering: 0
Maverik’s mobile app allows customers to view current in-store offers, acquire virtual punches for a buy-10-get-10-items deal, and view Maverik Adventure videos. Any customer who registers on the app is automatically enrolled in the chain’s loyalty program and can begin scanning the app to earn points, which can be used to purchase store merchandise directly within the app.
While the app’s loyalty functions add to Maverik’s mobile-commerce score, customers do not currently have a way to pay with a debit or credit card trough the app, and there is no available preordering option. Aaron McLean, chief operating officer of Stuzo, also says that users have reported technical issues in the app, such as difficulty opening the app, saving reward points or completing the sign-up process.
Website: 4.25
Maverik’s overall score for its website is 4.25. Here’s how it breaks down:
UX/UI: 3
Loyalty Program Promotion: 5
Personalization: 5
App Promotion: 4
Maverik’s website carries its score in the digital ranking, with easy navigation, useful information and the ability for users to sign into their Adventure Club accounts through the site. The website also promotes the mobile app’s features and benefits.
McLean suggests adding a list of available food items and fuel prices based on location as a way to improve on Maverik’s already high-scoring website.
Social Media: 4.13
Maverik’s overall score for social-media use is 4.13. Here’s how it breaks down:
Brand Responsiveness: 4
Frequency of Posts: 4.5
Creativity of Content: 3
Level of Engagement: 5
The chain also boasts a high social-media score. Maverik posts include videos and articles about outdoor activities, current in-store promotions and contests for free prizes.
Maverik also engages well with followers on Twitter by retweeting posts and taking interactive polls. McLean suggests Maverik bring that level of engagement to Facebook by responding more frequently to customer comments and questions, but adds that Maverik posts creative content that “fits well with the brand.”
Connected car and mobile employee activation: 0
Maverik did not score in either the connected-car or employee-activation metrics, but this is not unusual for c-store chains on Stuzo’s list. These metrics are focused on the future; Stuzo predicts chains will put more resources into such initiatives as the industry evolves and becomes more tech-focused.
The mobile-employee-activation metric measures how chains increase employee productivity and work satisfaction through mobile-based programs. Connected car measures the chain’s use of a car’s "infotainment" system on the dashboard, which will become more common as the capabilities of car platforms expand further.
With more than 300 c-stores, Salt Lake City-based Maverik ranked No. 30 on CSP’s 2017 Top 202 list of the largest c-store chains in the United States.
Stuzo is a digital-product-innovation company focused on the convenience-store and fuel-retail industry. It helps organizations humanize technology by designing, defining and delivering digital products that drive business outcomes.