Yesway Rewards Program Honored for Driving More Visits, Fuel Purchases & In-Store Spend
DES MOINES, Iowa — Yesway is the recipient of the 2018 Paytronix Loyaltee Award for Best Convenience Store Loyalty Launch with Yesway Rewards.
The c-store retailer built and launched Yesway Rewards on the Paytronix platform in June 2017. Initially launched at 37 stores, the loyalty program soon became an integral part of the brand's expansion, now available to customers at more than 100 locations.
"Paytronix gives us a multi-pronged approach to communicating with our loyalty customers via email and mobile messaging, which is directly tied to store-level promotions. It is a powerful platform," said Darrin Samaha, vice president and brand manager at Yesway. "Some brands run their programs in a passive way; however, we take a different approach.
"We work with Paytronix's team to make informed campaign decisions to drive and enhance customer visits based on data. The ability to connect supplier brands to our program allows us to cut the data and understand what offers are really going to move the needle on each visit," he continued.
According to Paytronix, Yesway Rewards helps the c-store retailer generate a unique experience that engages customers and motivates them to visit its stores and pumps more frequently. Yesway leverages its loyalty program to run joint promotions with vendors, including Altria Group Inc., Red Bull, Coca-Cola and Frito Lay, in addition to other major supplier partners who will often fund rewards.
For example, Coca-Cola recently provided loyalty customers with an extra summer beverage reward, and Red Bull offered a "cents-off-per-gallon" promotion on gas fill-up with purchase — bringing guests into the store and driving new registrations.
"The integration of the supplier partner program has helped bring customers into the stores who have in turn become new members. As an example, we introduced an Altria partnership and our tobacco offer realized a 52-percent take rate in its first program phase. That is a compelling result and we are looking to do more with Paytronix and our suppliers in the coming year," Samaha explained.
Additionally, Paytronix touts Yesway for its loyalty strategy, as evidenced by the numbers:
- Yesway Rewards offers drove 45.2 percent of loyalty members from the pump to the store.
- In a 60-day period, 44 percent of registered members who made at least one visit redeemed a reward.
- More than 40 percent of members have downloaded the Yesway mobile app.
Yesway management believed that a loyalty program was a critical element to building relationships with their customers and differentiating this new brand from their competitors. After a comprehensive review of potential loyalty platforms, Yesway selected Paytronix as its customer engagement platform and then built Yesway Rewards from the ground up. Consequently, Yesway is better able to identify, understand and communicate with their guests and deliver direct messages with relevant offers that give customers even more reasons to shop at its stores, according to Paytronix.
"Yesway is enjoying the benefits of nearly every aspect of the Paytronix platform — from its core loyalty program, to the campaign tools — and it has been exhilarating seeing Yesway achieve such success early in the program," said Michelle Tempesta, head of product for Paytronix. "As Yesway marches toward its goal of 500 locations, we continue to develop high-impact, transaction-motivating features to help it achieve its financial objectives too."
To read more about Paytronix’s case study on Yesway, click here.
Based in Newton, Mass., Paytronix Systems Inc. is a provider of SaaS customer experience management solutions for restaurants and convenience store brands.
Des Moines-based Yesway is the convenience store banner of BW Gas & Convenience and currently operates 150 c-stores in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska. It debuted at No. 7 on the Convenience Store News 2018 Top 20 Growth Chains list.