CEFCO's New Rewards Program Gets Positive Reception

TEMPLE, Texas — CEFCO Convenience Stores launched its all-new rewards program in partnership with Stuzo, provider of intelligent 1:1 loyalty, contactless commerce, and cross-channel customer experience solutions for convenience and fuel retailers.

CEFCO Rewards is live across the retailer's network, powered by Stuzo's Open Commerce Activate product for intelligent loyalty management and Open Commerce Experience product for SMS-based sign-in and the progressive web-based digital customer experience.

CEFCO also tapped Stuzo for its program management services, which include program design, implementation, operationalization and ongoing optimization.

"Since CEFCO opened our first store, we've had a tenacious drive to make our customers happy," said H. Lorne Brockway, chief information officer at Fikes Wholesale, operator of CEFCO branded sites. "Our customers are thrilled with our new CEFCO Rewards program, and our initial adoption rates exceeded expectations. We believe that in Stuzo, we've found the right all-in-one partner to help us accelerate our innovation initiatives today and well into the future.

"We expect our investments in CEFCO Rewards to create happier customers that have stronger, longer-lasting relationships with our brand and ensure we're delivering more value and convenience to our customers as compared with our competitors," he added.

Customers can enroll in CEFCO Rewards using just their mobile phone number at the fuel pump's pin pad, the in-store in pad at point-of-sale or on the CEFCO website.

CEFCO noted that with Open Commerce, during the first 60 days with its new program in market it has already gained performance improvements in multiple key areas compared to its prior rewards program. This includes:

• Transactions per day are up 80 percent;
• Number of active members is up 243 percent; and
• Member enrollment rates are up 115 percent.

In mid-2021, CEFCO Rewards will receive a payments-powered boost when Stuzo's Open Commerce Transact product for contactless commerce becomes integrated with the program, offering digital/mobile wallet capabilities that enable pay-at-pump and pay-in-store.

"We are honored to be a trusted partner in CEFCO's transformative customer experience programs," said Jake Kiser, chief customer officer at Stuzo. "Having an integrated program that starts with exceptional customer experience and loyalty first, includes simple, seamless enrollment across channels, and then offers multiple ways for members to engage across the digital commerce landscape, is essential to providing CEFCO customers with the greatest flexibility, choice, and ease across their personalized digital journey. This approach will generate more enrolled members, higher engagement, and greater incremental business outcomes at scale for CEFCO."

Temple-based CEFCO operates more than 200 stores in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Florida.