BOSTON -- GasBuddy has updated its mobile app to drive lottery traffic to convenience stores, according to the company.
GasBuddy users can now automatically filter gas stations for locations where lottery tickets are sold with a new Lottery button on the contents screen. Once users reach the new lottery section of the app, they can choose to receive push notifications of lottery updates such as holiday drawings or large jackpot numbers.
Users can also view a custom profile of each store where lottery tickets are sold, which includes winning numbers, jackpot news and other information.
“GasBuddy has relationships with more than 150,000 c-stores across the country, and our technology can provide lotteries with the ability to reach customers when they are feet from the point of purchase,” said Walt Doyle, CEO of GasBuddy. “We know that one store has the potential to get more than 1,000 lottery customers per day. The GasBuddy app provides even more resources for state lotteries to drive revenue and continually engage with nearly 70 million drivers on and off the point-of-sale locations.”
In addition to integrated app capabilities, state lotteries can use the data to track their campaigns and measure performance with third-party tracking, including the click-through to a location page, listing click-through rates (CTRs) and walk-through rates (WTRs) from overall engagement.
GasBuddy has also hired lottery veteran Jim Acton as senior director of advertising partnerships to oversee partnerships with companies and lotteries that can use the reach of the company’s app to promote their services and products.
With more than 15 years of experience in the lottery and gaming industries, Acton previously worked at lottery vendor Scientific Games in the interactive services and licensed brands divisions. Prior to joining Scientific Games in 2010, Acton served as director of gaming and lottery licensing at Hasbro. He began his lottery career at the Massachusetts Lottery where he served as chief of staff.
At GasBuddy, Acton will use the data and analytics available through the GasBuddy app to help lotteries and gaming companies better understand the purchasing patterns of their players and create programs to reach them based on this information.
“I’ve used the GasBuddy app for many years, and I am excited to communicate the opportunities available to lotteries and other companies,” said Acton. “Technology allows GasBuddy to advertise to app users at the pump and then measure if they go into the c-store. This is powerful to lotteries and other companies that want to reach GasBuddy users within feet of the point-of-product purchase.”
Boston-based GasBuddy manages an app that crowdsources firsthand consumer information on c-stores to help drivers find the best-rated gas station nearby. GasBuddy has data available for more than 140,000 gas stations in the United States, Canada and Australia. The company also offers GasBuddy Business Pages, a software-as-a-service for retailers and fuel marketers. The tool allows fuel marketers and retailers to maintain station information, manage brand and promote to their target audience through GasBuddy.
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