New Handy Mart App Gets Up Close and Personal

MT. OLIVE, N.C. -- Handy Mart is getting personal with its customers by teaming up with Verge Retail to launch the "my Handy Mart" smartphone application.

The my Handy Mart app allows customers to pick which types of deals and coupons they want to receive. The app also allows customers to see real-time gas prices for all 42 Handy Mart locations, offers turn-by-turn directions, and gives customers an easy way to interact with the Handy Mart brand via social media.

"The first thing a person does with a new smartphone is personalize it. We wanted to extend that same experience into the Handy Mart app," said Tony Noonan, vice president of retail operations at Handy Mart. "From the moment a customer first opens the app they get to choose their interests, and then going forward, their experience will be customized around those interests."

Handy Mart is based in Mt. Olive, N.C. The convenience store retailer has c-store/gas stations throughout eastern North Carolina. Verge Retail, located in Henderson, N.C., develops software platforms for retailers and distributors.

"Marketing through the smartphone medium allows a level of personalized interaction never previously possible; what Handy Mart is doing with their app is truly a first in the industry," said Carson Kuehne, director of sales at Verge Retail.