An App Alone Is Not a Digital Strategy

At the state level, California has announced a ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 — with many states expected to follow — with a phased approach of EV/hybrid requirements leading to 2035. California also announced it will fine automobile manufacturers $20,000 per new vehicle sold, for non-compliance. This regulation mirrors Shanghai’s license plate fees of $14,230-plus for gas vehicles, which are free to EV consumers, clearly encouraging adoption.

Our industry is also seeing more competition from outside our sector than ever before. Starbucks earlier this spring announced an EV-charging network partnered with Volvo and ChargePoint Inc. that covers a 1,350-mile route from Denver to Seattle. Beyond this, it is not uncommon to see EV chargers in places where gas pumps traditionally have not existed such as grocery stores, shopping malls, movie theatres, drug stores and even IKEA, which announced a 25-location network in partnership with Electrify America, an electric vehicle direct-current (DC) fast-charging-station network.

GETTING STARTED

For convenience retailers who want to futureproof their business but are hesitant given fiscal commitment, the good news is that funding is surging right now.

A good place to start is by reviewing the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) plan for the states within which you operate. These state-specific plans capture the $1 billion each year for the next five years allocated to charging infrastructure by the federal government.

While every state plan has different criteria, in general, they include information on qualifications and how to apply to have 80% of EV installation and hardware costs reimbursed to you. Beyond this, an ample volume of incentives exist that can contribute to the remaining 20% of investment from sources that include states, utility companies and Volkswagen’s settlement funding.

Setting the stage, however, for a successful grant is competitive and time consuming. Some programs are first come, first served, while others include a project narrative. Without getting into the weeds, these project narratives are not about the company story you want to tell. Instead, it’s about shaping the story in terms of what the funding agency needs to hear for their scoring criteria.

GROWING PROFITS

Profitability from providing EV charging should be looked at beyond the margin you can earn per kilowatt-hour. With an average dwell time of 23 minutes, you have an incredible opportunity to build the basket from there with some consideration including: • Quality foodservice and beverage programs can be lucrative opportunities, from large and advanced offers to crave-worthy simple items that can be achieved with minimal cross-utilized labor. • Packaged goods assortment catering to differences in how consumers experience changes with longer dwell time and behavior changes for trip consolidation. • Digital marketing at the EV charger for instore offers or outsourced advertising revenue. ChargePoint, as an example, recently partnered with GSTV to develop a digital-media network. • Fringe benefits that matter to shoppers such as clean restrooms, free Wi-Fi and a comfortable area for consumers to sit down and enjoy products purchased from your convenience store while their vehicle charges.

While environmental policy still has a long road of critical change needed for widespread EV adoption, the shift is, without any doubt, coming fast. Total share of fuel gallons will not only decline year over year with continued EV adoption, but further so from efficiency advancements and requirements of internal combustion engines compounded with higher fuel prices.

Convenience stores are the centers of our communities and offer the amenities that drivers have come to expect. Our desirable locations can alleviate consumer range anxiety, which will lead to advancing EV adoption. While the changes are complex, our industry has the ability to lead in EV transformation and adapt our model from ‘convenience and gas’ to ‘convenience, food and energy.’

Peter Rasmussen is a strong industry advocate, recognized convenience and energy veteran, and CEO and founder of Convenience and Energy Advisors (Convenienceandenergyadvisors.com). He can be reached at peter@convenienceandenergyadvisors.com.

Recognizing New Loyalty

CStore Decisions is recognizing CAL’s Convenience and Road Ranger for their newly updated and brand-new loyalty programs, respectively.

Emily Boes • Associate Editor

WINNER: CAL’s Convenience

CAL’s Convenience revamped its My Rewards program, offering its members a system with faster rewards.

CAL’s Convenience’s My Rewards program underwent a complete overhaul a few months ago, transitioning into a points bank and rewards system.

The chain is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and operates over 209 locations with the majority in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, and a couple located in New York and Pennsylvania. CAL’s Convenience also features a Laredo Taco Co. food concept.

My Rewards’ new phase as a completely digital points-bank program allows customers to earn 12 Stars for every $1 they spend in-store.

“We recently, a couple months ago, went from … a member pricing program to a completely different program doing a points bank with rewards and all that fun stuff,” said Mike Donerkiel, loyalty brand manager of CAL’s Convenience.

Member pricing offers and more are also included in the My Rewards program. Age-restricted items are excluded from Stars earning.

CAL’s, searching for an all-in-one solution, partnered with Paytronix to run its loyalty program, utilizing the platform’s data insights team for help with its strategy and analytics, as well.

Recognizing New Loyalty Programs

EARNING STARS

Customers who would like to take advantage of My Rewards can use the website or app to register. From that point on, they can then scan the app or type in their phone number at the point-of-sale to receive the Stars they’ve earned for their purchase or apply member pricing. Customers can then redeem those Stars for free products such as fountain drinks, coffee, roller grill items, sodas and more.

My Rewards members are also able to stay aware of new promotions.

Upon registering, CAL’s provides users with items such as free products, a certain number of Stars and a fuel discount.

For example, a customer might exchange 750 Stars for two roller grill items. Or, customers can earn Stars for a Laredo Taco Co. purchase. Special member pricing also applies to the foodservice concept.

Additionally, customers can redeem Stars for in-store and fuel discounts.

“For 750 Stars, you can get $4 off your in-store purchase. Or if you have 300 Stars you want to spend, that’ll give you fi ve cents off per gallon (of gas), and then you can stack those — it’s limitless,” said Donerkiel. “As long as you have the Stars, we don’t restrict you from adding as many as you want and redeeming as many as you want in a transaction.”