BOSTON — GasBuddy has added limited-time, personalized fuel discounts to its GasBuddy app.
Through the new Deal Alerts feature, GasBuddy members can get a personalized fuel discount ranging from 3 to 25 cents per gallon (CPG) below the street price. To access Deal Alerts, the customer opens the GasBuddy app to find the nearest gas stations. If a deal alert is available, the retail price will appear crossed off next to the participating gas station with a special discount price offered. To accept the deal, the user taps the claim button and has four hours to complete the transaction through the Pay With GasBuddy card. Discounted prices typically expire within 24 to 48 hours.
The discount never is less than 3 cents per gallon, and it “frequently” rises to 25 CPG, Michael DiLorenzo, chief marketing officer of GasBuddy, told CSP Daily News. Deals change and grow based on the user’s location and interaction with the GasBuddy platform, such as submitting local fuel prices through the GasBuddy app, participating in the GasBack savings program and purchasing fuel using their Pay With GasBuddy card. It also offers higher discounts in areas where gas prices are higher, and when it is combined with special deals from fuel, consumer and lifestyle brands that partner with GasBuddy.
DiLorenzo likened the Deal Alerts to a “flash sale.”
“These discounts are so good—in many instances up to 25 cents—that we may start to drive a new normal behavior for users,” he said. GasBuddy members are encouraged to check the GasBuddy app even on days when they do not need to fill up, because a deal alert may make it worth topping off their tank.
“It’s an important proposition for the retailer in terms of their participation, because we think it will drive incremental visits onto their property,” and it could encourage sales at the fuel pump and inside the store, DiLorenzo said. “And then our advertising partners benefit from more user sessions.”
Behavioral Change
The Deal Alerts feature is designed to encourage interaction with the GasBuddy platform, and enhance the overall “stickiness” of the Pay With GasBuddy card.
“We expect customers will use the app more religiously, frequently, to get the most out of the Pay With GasBuddy experience and drive their costs down as far as possible,” DiLorenzo said.
The Pay With GasBuddy card program launched in September 2017. According to GasBuddy, there are nearly 700,000 Pay With GasBuddy cardholders in the United States, and about one out of every 1,200 gallons of fuel dispensed in the United States is paid for with the Pay With GasBuddy card.
“There’s a great product market fit for a brand-agnostic discounting program like Pay With GasBuddy,” said DiLorenzo, pointing out that it has seen strong consumer traffic and gained market share as a form of payment for fuel.
GasBuddy sources the retailer-funded Deal Alerts discounts from GetUpside, which has its own app that offers personalized cash-back rewards on fuel and other purchases. In early 2019, GasBuddy partnered with GetUpside and Motiva Enterprises, a Houston-based refiner-marketer, to add Motiva gas stations participating in the GetUpside program into its app. Users could claim a special CPG discount or cash back on their fuel purchase by claiming the offer and making the purchase with Pay With GasBuddy, or a credit or debit card.
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