Woolworths and Coles loyalty initiatives around discounted fuel have been around for years, but when BP became the first fuel company in Australia to announce an external rewards program partnership when it teamed up with Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program, this left 7/11 in need of a strong response.
Nothing grinds our gears more than paying up to 10c per litre extra for the same fuel, same service and same convenience, simply because we miss-timed the weekly fuel cycle. 7/11 have taken this issue and developed an app around it which gives users the opportunity to lock in a petrol price for 7 days.
This play for 7/11 is the first of its kind in the fuel industry and not only that, it’s a great gamification piece to keep customers engaging with the app – users can check pricing 100 times each week, and can only lock in two prices within a 24 hour period. However, if the price is lower in-store when users come to fill up, they pay the lower price reducing any perceived risk.
There are also additional in-store offers and product discounts served up within the app to add extra value for customers and create upsells for 7/11.
Here’s the basic experience:
Step 1: I select the type of fuel I want to purchase from within the app
Step 2: The app uses a unique algorithm and geo-location technology to search prices at 7/11 outlets closest to me
Step 3: I enter my credit card details to the app, opening a 7/11 digital wallet
Step 4: I lock in the low price for 7 days
A fuel voucher is generated which can be scanned at the counter to redeem my locked in price from any 7/11 store in Australia.
Step 5: I pay instore with the app, cash or card over the next 7 days.
When I’m instore, I might take advantage of some of the instore offers hosted within the app.
Now it doesn’t matter which day of the week, what time it is, or where I am in Australia, I no longer have to worry about the fluctuating fuel price. Thankyou 7/11, my loyalty is yours (for now).
Stacey Lyons is the Marketing Director at Loyalty & Reward Co, a leading loyalty management consulting agency based in Sydney. Stacey has years of experience within loyalty, marketing and eCommerce across multiple channels and business models. Most recently, Stacey has been managing the investor, member and retailer communications for blockchain loyalty company EZToken Rewards.
Stacey is a proud pioneer of women in blockchain and regularly contributes to www.blockchainloyalty.io global resource centre for everything blockchain loyalty.
