Pay at the Pump, the App Version

NACS
November 28, 2018

DALLAS – Mobile apps are increasing in popularity at fuel retailers, with more convenience store chains coming out with branded payment and loyalty apps, Pymnts.com reports. But the number of customer paying at the pump with an app is only 4.5%.
However, of those customers, 73% indicated they would probably purchase something from the c-store after filling up, according to the new Paying at the Pump Report by Pymnts. Eighty-two percent of this market also wants a mobile app that will allow them to buy in-store items as well. Sixty-eight percent of adults who purchase gas via an app do it as often as weekly, while 22% indicated they always purchase something inside the c-store.
7-Eleven and Thorntons are among U.S. chains with apps that are attracting customers with loyalty and reward programs. For example, Thorntons uses Koupon Media’s mobile offers coupled with Paytronix’s rewards solutions to bridge the gap between selling and rewarding. This has “changed the game plan for our marketing efforts,” Thorntons said.
7-Eleven has a Facebook Messenger bot and an improved 7Rewards mobile app program. “When you fast-forward, you’re now looking to redefine convenience by building the experiences of the future, powered by digital,” said Gurmeet Singh, CIO and CDO of 7-Eleven, in a previous Pymnts interview.
With more than 120,000 U.S. convenience stores also selling fuel, having a mobile payment strategy could generate an additional $22 billion in sales annually by targeting these digitally savvy consumers who pay via an app at the pump, per the Pymnts report.