More than 1.2 million consumers enrolled in Circle K’s new Inner Circle loyalty program in Florida in the first three weeks of its debut there, the company said.
The convenience-store chain, owned by Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., launched the Inner Circle program in early June at 429 locations in Florida, President and CEO Brian Hannasch said June 28 on the Laval, Quebec-based company's fourth-quarter earnings call.
The free membership program, available in Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers and other Florida locations, aims to deliver rewards for fuel, food and merchandise seamlessly and to provide personalized offerings. After Circle K customers spend $500 at participating locations, they are eligible to join as a premium member, according to the Inner Circle web page.
To enroll in the Inner Circle program, consumers download the app or visit CircleK.com.
Circle K offers customers 25 cents off per gallon of fuel on their next five fill-ups and five free beverages when they join. Inner Circle offers everyday fuel discounts of 3 cents off the per-gallon price and 5 cents off for premium members. Members can stack discounts with Circle K Easy Pay to save an extra 10 cents a gallon on every fillup, said the retailer. The program also offers “every 6th free” on select Circle K items such as beverages, snacks and other food items, among other “surprise” discounts and early notice of new products.
“Our mission is to make our customers lives a little easier every day and Inner Circle fits right into those efforts by providing our customers with a differentiated experience that goes beyond expectations for both fuel and convenience offerings. With the launch of Inner Circle, we aim to not only reinforce this commitment, but thank our valued customers in unique and rewarding ways. The free membership to Inner Circle is just the foundation for a variety of benefits and experiences Circle K plans to build upon for customers,” said Kevin Lewis,chief growth officer at Circle K.
“Launching Inner Circle turned out to be more difficult than we expected as we navigated a highly complex technical roadmap and our goal to get it right developing a unique, valuable and easy to use program for our customers,” Hannasch said on the call. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the rollout so far with over 1.2 million people enrolled in just three weeks. I want to thank the many team members across the organization who have contributed to bringing Inner Circle to life. We plan to expand to more business units starting in the Southeast U.S. as this year progresses.”
Separate from Inner Circle, Circle K offers a $9.99 monthly beverage subscription, offering one beverage every day for the flat price. It also offers special promotions on certain occasions to build excitement, such as a Memorial Day fuel discount of 40 cents per gallon at the pump at more than 5,000 participating Circle K and Holiday Stationstores locations, the company said.
- Alimentation Couche-Tard is No. 2 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience store chains by store count.
Alimentation Couche-Tard has more than 7,100 locations in the United States, primarily under the Circle K and Holiday Stationstores banners.