Grocer-Fuel Marketer Partnership Fuels High-Octane Results
OTTOWA, Ill. -- Just six months after launching a cross-marketing program that gives shoppers fuel discounts at a nearby gas station for purchasing certain products at its grocery store, community-based independent Handy Foods said it is now giving out rewards for approximately 2,000 of fuel per week.
“Our customer reaction has been very positive because of the fuel prices,” said Mike McGrogan, co-owner of Handy Foods. “The program has been a great part of our overall strategy. It’s much more economical to partner with a gas station right across the street than it is to build your own.”
The retailer is working with Partridge’s Marathon gas station on the card-based program. Branded as “Pump Perks,” the program is managed by Supervalu’s regional office in Kenosha, Wis. Excentus Corp., Irvington, Texas, provides the fuel-site marketing program, technology, and integration services.
Handy Foods uses the Excentus’ Reward Marketplace to track purchases of promoted items and the subsequent fuel discounts. The Marathon fuel site relies on Excentus Reward Link, which integrates to its Verifone Ruby SuperSystems to gather the Handy Foods customer’s reward information and rolls down the price of fuel by the appropriate amount. In addition to Marathon branded sites, Excentus Reward Link is compatible with BP, Chevron, Citgo, Clark, Gulf, Shell, Sinclair, Sunoco, and Valero.
The application technologies from Excentus enable the integration and automation of fuel and retail operations, facilitating cross-marketing programs that generate incremental in-store sales.
Shoppers can earn fuel discounts by purchasing any of a thousand or so grocery items flagged with special tags indicating that they will earn cents-off per gallon of gas at the retailer’s fuel location, or at a fuel marketer who participates in the program for grocers that do not sell fuel. Eligible products change each week, and the cents per gallon discounts on Pump Perks cards are valid for 30 days.
“Our customer reaction has been very positive because of the fuel prices,” said Mike McGrogan, co-owner of Handy Foods. “The program has been a great part of our overall strategy. It’s much more economical to partner with a gas station right across the street than it is to build your own.”
The retailer is working with Partridge’s Marathon gas station on the card-based program. Branded as “Pump Perks,” the program is managed by Supervalu’s regional office in Kenosha, Wis. Excentus Corp., Irvington, Texas, provides the fuel-site marketing program, technology, and integration services.
Handy Foods uses the Excentus’ Reward Marketplace to track purchases of promoted items and the subsequent fuel discounts. The Marathon fuel site relies on Excentus Reward Link, which integrates to its Verifone Ruby SuperSystems to gather the Handy Foods customer’s reward information and rolls down the price of fuel by the appropriate amount. In addition to Marathon branded sites, Excentus Reward Link is compatible with BP, Chevron, Citgo, Clark, Gulf, Shell, Sinclair, Sunoco, and Valero.
The application technologies from Excentus enable the integration and automation of fuel and retail operations, facilitating cross-marketing programs that generate incremental in-store sales.
Shoppers can earn fuel discounts by purchasing any of a thousand or so grocery items flagged with special tags indicating that they will earn cents-off per gallon of gas at the retailer’s fuel location, or at a fuel marketer who participates in the program for grocers that do not sell fuel. Eligible products change each week, and the cents per gallon discounts on Pump Perks cards are valid for 30 days.