Operations | Fuel & Fuel Alternatives
Fuel Customers Seek Savings While keeping an eye to electric vehicle charging (EVC) and other alternative energy solutions, convenience retailers are finding new ways to keep fuel customers happy in 2022, as gas prices remain high. Temple, Ariz.-based Circle K has rebranded close to 3,000 sites to its Circle K fuel brand in the past three years — about half of its U.S. stores, said Melissa Lessard, head of North American marketing at Circle K. To celebrate, the retailer announced a new promotion: Through April 25, customers can enter to win free fuel for a year, with one winner every week. In addition, it’s offering cents-off-gallons coupons via mobile for customers who enter to win the grand prize. Other fuel offers include Circle K’s Easy Pay card that gives customers a 10-cent-per-gallon rebate on every fill, Lessard said, as well as its ‘Premium Thursday’ promotion. “Circle K premium fuel offers double the cleaning detergents, which means you’ll clean your engine while you drive, boost your engine performance and lower emissions,” she said. “We know customers are curious about our Premium Fuel in general, and we are happy to make it easier to try our best fuel each Thursday by offering 20 cents off per gallon at participating stores.” Westborough, Mass.-based EG America also offers fuel savings to customers across its Loaf ‘n Jug, Certified Oil, Fastrac, Kwik Shop, Minit Mart, Quik Stop, Tom Thumb and Turkey Hill c-store locations. Last month, SmartPay app users received an extra 10 cents off per gallon of fuel, for a total of 20 cents off per gallon, which EG America Director of Brand Strategy and Advertising David Heilbronner said led to an increase in enrollments of SmartPay as well as an increase in the average number of gallons using SmartPay.
Future of Fuel Prices
As the economy recovers, fuel prices remain high. Still, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects gasoline and diesel prices to lower in 2022 and 2023 as demand growth slows.
SmartPay Rewards mobile app users also receive additional gallon rewards, flash sales and more. The rewards program recently reached over $4 billion sold in fuel and $200 million saved by its users. Heilbronner said the retailer is now considering another savings program for the summer months and notes an overall fuel industry trend: “Gas discount programs appear to be growing.” In 2022, consumers are hyper-aware of not only what the fuel they’re using costs, but also what types of fuel they’re selecting at the pump. “Customers are more and more interested in what they are putting in their cars,” confirmed Lessard, “so we established a quality guarantee customer journey.” For Circle K, this means a guarantee to customers that its fuel is of “a highgrade quality that meets all U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.” “We only use fuel sourced from responsible refineries and terminals that use quality cleaning detergent additives,” Lessard said. “This means lower vehicle emissions and maintenance of optimal engine performance.”
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, 2021
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March 2022
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