Loop Neighborhood Market Once Again Turns to Tech to Modernize the C-store Experience
SAN FRANCISCO — Loop Neighborhood has teamed up with auto app Way.com to power the drive-through car wash experience at multiple Loop convenience store locations throughout California. The partnership officially commenced in January.
"When we look for partners at Loop, we ensure they fit our culture and customer-first mission," said Pervez Pir, president of retail of Loop Neighborhood. "Our customers expect us to provide services and amenities that create a greater value and confidence for their automotive experiences."
Way.com launched in 2016 with its parking reservation platform, and has since added multiple verticals including car washes, auto insurance, auto refinance, gas discounts and roadside assistance.
"The synergy with Loop couldn't be more perfect, as they have modernized the convenience store for the great benefit of their customers, while we've taken a tech-forward approach to revitalize the antiquated ways of the auto services industry," stated Way's Car Wash Vertical Vice President Ro Krishna.
Loop Neighborhood's partnership with Way.com is not its first partnership with a technology company in an attempt to improve its customer experience. As Convenience Store News reported in March 2021, Loop teamed up with an algorithmic customer engagement company to deliver personalized omnichannel customer engagement.
Via its pact with Algonomy, the retailer will be able to engage each of its customers in real-time with relevant messages based on their behavior and transaction history.
Algonomy's solution leverages machine learning algorithms to drive personalized customer engagement across the entire customer journey on any channel. Loop can promote weekly offers, embed a customer's savings dashboard, distribute personalized newsletters and offer curated bundles that appeal to each individual recipient, according to Algonomy.
In addition, in 2020, Loop Neighborhood Market introduced a totally autonomous convenience store and gas station in one of the technology capitals of the world: Silicon Valley.
The San Francisco-based retailer tapped artificial intelligence technology company AiFi Inc. for its AiFi Autonomous Store Platform. Based on AiFi's modular NanoStore template, the autonomous Loop Neighborhood Market clocks in at just 160 square feet. The store provides customers with an autonomous solution in a fun and engaging small store footprint. The format also enables the location to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Described as the missing link between a convenience store and a vending machine, and touted as the fastest vehicle to open an autonomous store, AiFi's NanoStore debuted in 2019.
San Francisco-based Loop Neighborhood operates 51 stores across northern California and southern California. Loop Marketplace is proud to support active and healthy lifestyles by carrying organic, natural and gluten-free products. Aside from just fresher products, Loop also offers items more specifically targeted to female and millennial customers. Additionally, each location offers seating areas equipped with Wi-Fi to further enhance the experience
Way.com is a fintech platform for car ownership, where 5 million drivers have discovered high-quality car services in one destination. Its car services marketplace finds and reserves optimal city and airport parking, sets customers up with car washes in the area, offers auto refinance rates and has partnered with thousands of parking locations, car washes and hundreds of insurance carriers covering all 50 states.