GARDINER, Maine & ATLANTA -- Pine State Trading Co., a leader in New England for marketing and distribution of convenience and beverage products, and Sionic Mobile, an mCommerce company providing mobile gifting, payments and rewards, have announced a strategic partnership to provide Pine State Trading's customers with Sionic Mobile's ION Loyalty solution. The cloud-based ION platform uses mobile devices to connect merchants with nearby, ready-to-spend consumers.
"This partnership signals a shift in the way fuel retailers and convenience stores compete," said Ronald Herman, CEO of Sionic Mobile. "Combining Pine State Trading Co.'s 72-year history of impeccable service and forward-thinking approach to serving their customers, with our third-generation ION platform puts this industry on notice. Pine State Trading Co.'s chain and independent retailers now have the tools to give them a competitive edge."
ION Loyalty for merchants saves fuel retailers up to 75% or more in credit-card fees, helps increase traffic and high-margin sales, and rewards customers for their repeat business. ION Rewards for consumers offers 3% in free fuel, rewards them up to 2% instantly when they pay with their phone inside, and gives bonus IONs for buying promoted items, gifting to others and connecting with friends.
"We believe ION is the industry best at solving two challenges for our customers: cutting interchange fees--the second highest operating cost behind payroll--and increasing both fuel volume and inside sales," said Keith Canning, managing partner of Pine State Trading Co. "The response from our chain and independent customers alike has been overwhelmingly positive."
The companies begin rolling out ION throughout New England beginning Nov. 1 and expect to have thousands of locations enabled within a few months.
Atlanta-based Sionic Mobile uses mobile devices and cloud technology to connect merchants with nearby, ready-to-spend consumers. The company is the maker and provider of ION--a fully digital mobile marketing, gifting, payment and loyalty rewards app for phones and tablets. ION Loyalty for merchants cuts credit-card fees by 75%, helps increase high-margin sales and instantly thanks good customers for their repeat business. ION Rewards gives consumers 3% free fuel, rewards them up to 2% every time they pay with their phone at any ION merchant, and gives bonus IONs for gifting to others and connecting with friends. The free apps support iOS and most Android devices.
Pine State Trading Co., Gardiner, Maine, is a leader in the marketing and distribution of convenience and beverage products with more than 5,000 customers.
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