There’s a symbiotic relationship between fuel and convenience, Sam Berkovitz, vice president of enterprise fuel at Upside, said at CSP’s Outlook Leadership Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Lower fuel prices translate to more people on site, and more people on site means more customers going inside the store, he said.
The inverse is also true.
“If we have compelling inside promotions, then we're able to bring more people on site and then have store-to-pump conversions, not only pump-to-store conversions,” Berkovitz said.
Moderator Mitch Morrison, vice president of retailer relations and event content director at Informa Connect, spoke with Berkovitz as well as Mary Mamalakis, executive director of category management at RaceTrac, and Jamie Miller, vice president of marketing at RaceTrac.
- RaceTrac is No. 17 on CSP’s 2025 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. RaceWay is No. 35.
Retailers like RaceTrac are leaning into this strategy, bridging pump and store promotions to maximize foot traffic and basket size.
RaceTrac recently launched its first promotion offering cents off per gallon when customers purchase a specific product inside the store.
“We think that’s how our channel can win against some of the other channels that are certainly coming for us,” said Mamalakis.
While price remains a major driver, Mamalakis said RaceTrac is also focused on innovation as a differentiator.
“We're the place that people come to discover new items and feel permissible to try something new with an entry price point,” she said. “And so while this session is certainly focused on price and value, I think us having the innovation, the surprise and delight items is critically important.”
When it comes to loyalty strategy, Miller said the focus is on striking the right balance between delivering customer value and driving business goals.
“I think it's the balance between adding value for [customers] but also making sure that it's driving [results],” she said. “And so how do we strike that balance? But absolutely, Mary unlocked it. We have to be giving the customer things that they value in order to keep them engaged with it.”
Family-owned RaceTrac is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, with more than 800 retail locations serving customers through the RaceTrac and RaceWay brands. The company employs more than 10,000 team members across RaceTrac, RaceWay and affiliated companies Metroplex Energy, Energy Dispatch and Gulf Oil. RaceWay operates 241 stores in 11 states in the Southeast.
Interested in learning more about the latest in convenience-store technology? Don't miss C-StoreTEC 2025 (October 27-29, Plano, Texas)—the industry's premier technology leadership event created by retailers, for retailers. Visit https://cstoretec.com to secure your spot at this groundbreaking conference where convenience retail leaders collaborate to drive digital transformation and accelerate growth.
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