Liquid Barcodes

Resources

Secrets for Success

Paula Thomas, Chief Content Officer, Liquid Barcodes

01/23/2020

As the fourth-largest convenience store and fuel retailer in the United States, Casey’s General Stores is a Fortune 500 company operating over 2,100 convenience stores and gas stations in sixteen states, but perhaps most famously, it has also enjoyed extraordinary success for its food service, becoming the country’s fifth-largest pizza chain selling more than 19 million pizzas each year!

Most recently, following the launch of its new brand positioning, and just three days after launching its new loyalty program Casey’s Rewards, the company recently enjoyed the honour of ringing the opening bell at NASDAQ celebrating over 50 years in business, with six consecutive quarters of growth and announcing plans to grow its store footprint by 3-5% each year for the next three years.

At a time when retail trading is considered challenging given declining fuel margins and sales in some categories, it’s exciting to see such a simple strategy, executed brilliantly. Great food, that’s easy to buy online or offline, and now supported by a long-term investment in customer relationships, it’s no wonder that Casey’s has become one of the world’s 20 fastest growing retailers. As always, our article will focus on what we like about their approach to recognising and rewarding their customers, giving you the latest ideas and insights on how market leading brands are driving profitable growth.

rewards programCasey’s launched its first ever rewards program in January 2020. 

Casey’s Rewards

While loyalty programs traditionally track and reward customers for their spend OR purchase frequency, Casey’s Rewards has chosen a slightly unusual approach and combined both, offering its customers both points AND free products depending on their purchase volume specifically on pizza. It’s a flexible strategy that allows the brand to be generous where margins allow, retaining an existing reward proposition, while also rewarding spend on gas and convenience store products.

Here are the rewards that Casey’s customers earn:

  1. Convenience store purchases earn 10 points for every $1 spent – whether in-store, by phone or online.
  2. For every gallon of gas at the pump, members earn 5 points.
  3. Casey’s has operated a “buy ten, get one free” reward using pizza box tops for many years. With the launch of Casey’s Rewards as a digital programme, members continue to get their 11th large pizza free, – but now only when these purchases are tracked in digital rather than physical form.

It’s a formula that builds on the brand’s unique success offering pizza as a unique differentiator, proving a winning formula alongside its convenience store and gas station offering.

As soon as customers earn 250 points, they can redeem them in a variety of ways, again choosing a flexible model across key business areas to address customer needs:

  1. The simplest reward for customers is to convert their points into “Casey’s Cash”, which can be used to pay for items inside the store. The basic reward ratio is 4%, so a $25 spend returns a $2 cash voucher.
  2. Rewards points can be used for discounts on fuel, with 250 points earning a 5 cent per gallon discount.
  3. Finally, the program offers members the option for customers to turn their points into a donation to a school of their choice. This option is being used to lead the program communications, it supports the overall “here for good” brand promise, and is being supplemented by a bonus $50,000 charity contribution from the firm directly at the program launch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGwJRgev44U

Casey’s Rewards is designed as a proof-point for the overall brand promise – “here for good”

Operational Insights

From an operational perspective, Casey’s Rewards is an app-based program which will ensure the tracking of spend and pizzas remains clear and simple. Customers can also use their phone number at the till to identify themselves, an increasingly important mechanic used to take the inconvenience out of remembering to present a loyalty card or app when paying for products.

Inspiration

While we regularly discuss the importance of consistency in loyalty programme design, it’s also important to ensure the loyalty brand and proposition is designed from a clear understanding of the brand’s values, and customer demographics. Having launched the “here for good” tagline, the company cleverly and clearly understood how their loyalty strategy could become a “proof point” for the brand.

With corporate trust at an all time low, and now an essential pre-requisite for customer loyalty, this program allowing customers the option to choose whether to reward themselves or their local schools makes prefect sense. It follows in some ways in the footsteps of an iconic programme in South Africa called “My School, My Village, My Planet” which has been operating for over twenty years across multiple retail partners in the country, and has now donated over $35 million back to local communities from over 12 million supporters. While many loyalty programmes are still focused on discounts, cash back and transactional rewards, it’s inspiring to see some forward-thinking brands like this focus on a more emotionally-led approach. As our friends in the “Wise Marketer” mentioned in their “top 5 five trends in loyalty in 2020“, “Research by Gallup has demonstrated that consumers with strong emotional connections to retailers will visit their stores 32% more often and spend 46% more money than those without emotional bonds.”

What better way to start 2020 than to ensure your loyalty program engages the hearts as well as the minds of your customers.

Casey's logo

About Us:

Liquid Barcodes is a leading global loyalty and digital marketing technology company specialized for the convenience store and foodservice industries. Our proprietary cloud-based technology platform allow retailers to create and manage their digital marketing campaigns with a proprietary process we call the “customer connection cycle’ to engage, promote and reward customers activities in real-time across digital and media channels.

How we do it:

We have developed the most advanced loyalty and digital marketing technology platform specifically for convenience store and foodservice retailers globally.

Retailers use our self-service dashboard to create and manage loyalty driven marketing campaigns that increase purchases with their existing customers, as well as effectively target and acquire new customers through partners or paid media channels.

One core component of live loyalty is gamification. We have gamified branding, loyalty and promotions. We believe this approach is essential in order to get customers’ attention and ultimately truly engage them with repeatable actions thereby winning their loyalty.

Check out some of our exciting/proven results here:

www.LiquidBarcodes.com

About Me:

Paula Thomas

Chief Content Officer, Liquid Barcodes and Independent Loyalty Consultant

With over twenty-five years marketing experience, I specialise in loyalty marketing consulting, managing consumer loyalty propositions, strategy and operations. In addition to working with Liquid Barcodes, my clients have included Telefonica O2, Three Mobile, Electric Ireland, Allied Irish Bank and The Entertainer, as well as Avios – the global points currency for some of the world’s top airlines. I am also a judge for the Loyalty Magazine Awards. 

—————————————————————————————–


Blog post

5 Cs of Summer: Cold Coffee, Clean Cars & Convenience

Subscription programs are a great way to secure long-term customer loyalty and revenue. Whether you are providing a subscription for beverages or car washes, securing recurring monthly revenue is imperative to stay competitive.   Summer is around the corner and retail marketers are crafting sunny campaigns to increase customer traffic to the store. Help those […]

Blog post

Circle K Makes a Splash With Car Wash Subscription Program in Europe

Circle K has extended its highly successful car wash subscription program to Norway after successful implementations in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Sweden and Estonia. Circle K’s vast global network of car washes has digitally transformed operations with its revolutionary car wash subscription program. First launched in Denmark and the U.S. in 2020, the program […]

Blog post

Newly Redesigned Brezelkönig App Accepts Payments and Rewards Loyalty

Swiss foodservice chain Brezelkönig releases app update which offers customers the convenience of earning rewards and paying for products with the app in stores.  The recently-updated Brezelkönig app allows pretzel-loving customers to enjoy recognition and rewards for their loyalty. Additionally, the Brezelkönig app accepts payments to make the customer experience even more convenient.  Brezelkönig is […]

Blog post

Sunshine Gasoline Introduces ACH-Only Mobile Payment for Fuel

Florida convenience retailer releases fuel payment app accepting only ACH payment, saving thousands in payment processing fees for the retailer. Sunshine Gasoline upgraded its Max Carwash App to Sunshine Brand featuring a special fuel pay program, powered by C-StorePay by Liquid Barcodes, which allows consumers to conveniently pay for fuel using the app. Customers simply […]

Blog post

2022: An Outstanding Year for Liquid Barcodes and Our Customers

In 2022, Liquid Barcodes witnessed a year of unprecedented growth with customers, products and team members. Every great business has an inspiring founding story and Liquid Barcodes’ 10-year journey is inspiring the future of loyalty. Beginning as a startup in Norway, the company opened its second office in the United States in early 2022 and […]

Blog post

What Is C-StorePay?

Liquid Barcodes’ proprietary C-StorePay makes paying for fuel, in-store merchandise, and subscription programs convenient for customers, reduces credit card fees for retailers, and integrates easily into existing loyalty programs Announced in October 2022, the revolutionary Liquid Barcodes C-StorePay product rose to the top of retailers’ 2022 wish lists at the NACS Show, even achieving a […]

Blog post

Polish Retail Leader Żabka Launches Coffee Subscription Program

Polish retail giant, Żabka introduces a monthly coffee subscription program across its vast store network. With its new coffee subscription program, Żabka Polska will certainly dominate the beverage category in Poland’s unique convenience market. In July 2022, Dr. Adam Manikowski, Managing Director of Żabka Polska, was featured on the popular Global Convenience Store Focus video […]

Blog post

Loyalty Apps Engage Customers

98% of loyalty app users love using a loyalty app and want more features from it. In September 2022, NACS published a report examining customer engagement with convenience loyalty programs. Unsurprisingly, customers feel most engaged, appreciated and valued by the stores to which they belong in a loyalty or membership program – nearly ¾ of […]

Blog post

Save Thousands in Credit Card Fees With ACH

Visa and Mastercard announced an increase in interchange fees earlier in the year and retailers are taking action and sending a message by migrating their customers to new solutions, including mobile app-based ACH payments, and in the process increasing profits by not only reducing credit card fees but also boosting loyalty via innovative app-based incentive […]

Blog post

Maxol Launches First-of-Its-Kind Loyalty App

Maxol, Ireland’s largest family-owned forecourt and convenience retailer, announced it has launched a new customer loyalty app with never-before-seen features in the Irish market. After more than a century serving Irish customers, Maxol’s 240+ stores and service stations are located throughout Ireland and have enjoyed global recognition for their best-in-class operations, store design and offers. […]

Blog post

Delivering Personalized Content With Machine Learning and Image Recognition

Build personalized customer connections, improve efficiency, and make intelligent, data-driven decisions using machine learning and image recognition.   It’s 7:15 in the morning and a customer – Amy – is on her way to work. She is on the hunt for coffee and breakfast and stops at a convenience store. She opens her store app […]

Blog post

Circle K’s Use of Beacon Technology to Activate Car Wash Subscription Program

Beacon Technology and Car Wash Subscription Programs Beacon technology used in tandem with a customer-facing car wash subscription program revolutionizes the customer experience by providing a quick, convenient experience. Innovation is the key to continued growth and ensuring a frictionless customer experience should be top of mind for any retailer. Circle K’s vast global network […]

Liquid Barcodes

Put a rocket under your loyalty program

With our loyalty platform, we help design and operate world-class, tailor-made subscription and reward programs that make sure your customers always come back.

Book a Demo →

We are trusted by global brands.

Convenience retailers all over the world have engaged and rewarded consumers with our tailor-made loyalty programs.

To our case studies →

Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes

Convenience retailers all over the world have engaged and rewarded consumers with our tailor-made loyalty programs.

To our case studies →

Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes