Digital Ranking Profile: Murphy USA (August 2018)

EL DORADO, Ark. -- Murphy USA has climbed Stuzo’s digital ranking of c-stores with the launch of its loyalty pilot program in 200 stores in northern Texas and Tennessee. The pilot began June 1 and collected nearly 1 million members within about two months, Murphy USA CEO Andrew Clyde said on a recent earnings call.

The brand holds an overall score of 0.78 since launching the Murphy Drive Rewards loyalty program.

“The Murphy Drive Rewards program is still in pilot and per Murphy’s president and CEO, Andrew Clyde, is projected to be released nationwide in 2019. We congratulate Murphy USA on the initial success of its rewards program pilot,” said Sandra Sydlik, head of research for Stuzo. “By integrating the rewards program into a mobile app, Murphy USA is utilizing loyalty mechanics to incentivize consumers to visit more often and spend more when they visit. That said, Murphy USA has gaps in its digital capabilities compared to other operators.”

Click here to see Stuzo’s complete online ranking. Stuzo is a provider of personalized and predictive commerce solutions for the convenience and fuel-retail industry.

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 zero to 5 for each metric. Each metric is calculated using four more specific metrics. While this article examines the details behind the Murphy USA ranking, it is meant more as a profile than an attempt to compare it to competitors.

Click through for details on where Murphy USA stands in Stuzo’s c-store digital ranking and information on the brand’s digital capabilities …
 

Murphy USA’s overall score for mobile commerce is 0.46. Here’s how it breaks down:

App Performance: 1.84
Mobile Payment: 0
Loyalty Program: 0
Mobile Ordering: 0

While Murphy has launched a pilot loyalty program, Stuzo will not take the move into consideration until there is a brandwide or nationwide rollout.

Aside from that, Sydlik suggested Murphy adopt pay-in-store and pay-at-the-pump capabilities to the mobile app in order to make payments and earning or redeeming rewards more seamless. Sydlik said 17% of the top 100 U.S. fuel retailers and c-store operators have incorporated mobile pay at the pump, and 21% have incorporated in-store mobile pay options. Furthermore, moving into either or both would expand Murphy’s digital capabilities and set it apart from competitors.
 

Photograph courtesy of Stuzo 

Murphy USA’s overall score for its website is 1.77. Here’s how it breaks down:

UX/UI: 2.67
Loyalty Program Promotion: 0.67
Personalization: 2.5
App Promotion: 3
Food Ordering: 0

Murphy USA’s corporate website provides information about its gas discount cards, newly added Murphy Drive Rewards program and mobile app. Overall, Sydlik said the site has an intuitive design and is visually appealing. Consumers are sent to a separate website to view more information about the Murphy USA Drive Rewards program. Sydlik believes the rewards website provides a good user experience and keeps the consumer journey focused on signing up for the rewards program.

While the mobile version of the corporate website is not up to par with current mobile user experience standards, she said, the Murphy Driver Rewards website provides a more intuitive mobile experience.
 

Photograph courtesy of Stuzo

Murphy USA’s overall score for social media is 0.90. Here’s how it breaks down:

Brand Responsiveness: 1
Frequency of Posts: 1
Creativity of Content: 0.5
Level of Engagement: 1

Sydlik said Murphy posts “sporadic” messages about deals, offers, corporate news and well wishes during holidays on Facebook, and the chain posts on Twitter to engage with consumers who complain about issues at gas stations or with the mobile app.

She suggests the chain could improve social consumer engagement with more frequent posts with engaging content, such as polls or social media contests.
 

Photograph courtesy of Stuzo

Murphy USA did not score in the connected-car metric, though this score is not unusual for c-store chains on Stuzo’s list. This metric is largely focused on the future. Stuzo predicts chains will put more resources into such initiatives as the industry evolves and becomes more technology-focused.

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.

El Dorado, Ark.-based Murphy USA is a marketer of retail motor fuel products and convenience-store merchandise. It operates more than 1,400 retail stations in 26 U.S. states under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands. Murphy USA is No. 5 in CSP's2018 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by total number of retail outlets.

Philadelphia-based Stuzo is a provider of personalized and predictive commerce solutions for the convenience and retail fuel industry.

Photograph courtesy of Shutterstock