The Pilot Flying J loyalty program has, in many ways, mimicked the evolution of convenience stores in general. A physical card and ID tied customers to their loyalty program back in 2012. A few years later, the chain launched its first app, but it just targeted professional drivers. Fast forward to today, and the Pilot app is personalized for all types of drivers and shoppers.
“We leaned heavily on our consumer insights team,” said Steven Root, director of loyalty for the Knoxville, Tennessee-based chain. “We really want to ask our guests what they’re looking for, what they’re happy with, where [are] things we can improve. We’re constantly evolving the experience, trying to make it simpler. That comes to life through multiple new app releases throughout the year.”
Convenience stores know that loyalty programs increase check size and visits, but having a loyalty app is no longer enough. C-stores are harnessing technologies like artificial intelligence to predict behavior and track and understand what messages and deals will create relationships with customers.
C-stores regularly announce new loyalty app features like subscriptions and games that challenge shoppers to buy certain items. But the biggest loyalty trend looks different for each customer—personalization.
Make it personal
C-store shoppers are a diverse group but they want to be treated as individuals.
“What’s most important for retailers today is knowing and understanding their guests,” Mike Templeton, former director of Digital Experience at Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey's General Stores, said. “Leveraging a loyalty program is what will enable a business to capture and synthesize those insights about the individuals shopping their stores.”
Casey's recently updated its app to allow users to track savings and choose personalized offers.
Punchh, the loyalty software arm of technology company Par Technology, New Hartford, New York,works with Casey’s to “target the right offer to the right consumer,” Joe Yetter, Punchh’s general manager, said. There are customers interested in consumer packaged goods (CPG), drinks, gas or tobacco, and “you can segment and offer unique benefits and rewards to each of those types of consumers,” he said. These personalized ads and communications can help build a relationship and trust. “Somebody who's never purchased tobacco before, you don't want to send them a tobacco offer.”
But where the driver is located is just as important as who they are and what they buy, said Root.
Pilot’s app embraces “contextual personalization,” Root said. If you’re away from a store, the app’s home screen focuses on routing and finding a store. “Once you’re at the store, then the key calls to action really revolve around checking out the offers that are available” in a particular store.
Personal data can also be used in other “critical moments in their journey,” like when a customer is “weaning off” a brand, Donnie Fairbanks, a loyalty strategist focusing on c-stores at Paytronix, said.
Companies can use data to target a customer who hasn’t purchased in a few weeks and send them specific, targeted offers to “nudge them back and reengage them,” Fairbanks said. Newton, Massachusetts-based Paytronix works with brands like United Dairy Farmers on their loyalty apps, which offer personalized features.
Of course, discounts can only take you so far, as Kevin Lewis, the chief growth officer of Alimentation Couche-Tard-owned Circle K, said during the company’s Investor Day presentation last year.
“Consumers searching for value, especially in these economic times, is an important thing to make sure we acknowledge. But candidly, if you're not careful, that simply becomes a bidding war,” Lewis said while discussing Circle K's new membership app, Inner Circle. The company’s new app offers personalized offers to customers.
Personal data can help c-stores go beyond deals and help build “personal connections,” he said.
“Collecting data is literally the lifeblood of these programs,” he said.