GetGo to offer new perk for customers fueling up

GetGo Cafe+Market is adding another layer to its loyalty program to try to lure in customers.

Starting Wednesday, customers in the Pittsburgh area will be able to sign up for an AdvantagePay program to get a discount between 5 and 30 cents per gallon at the convenience stores operated by O’Harabased grocer Giant Eagle. The program should be available throughout the chain by Thursday, the company said.

Customers enrolled in the program will scan — and pay with — their Advantage Card to get the fuel discount. The AdvantagePay program will be linked to a checking account.

“The discounted AdvantagePay price is posted at the top of the fuel price marquee, and although the discount is variable, it will always be less than the regular price of fuel,” according to the GetGo announcement.

For retailers, using programs linked to debit cards mean paying far less in credit card payment fees, said Jeff Lenard, vice president, strategic industry initiatives for the National Association of Convenience Stores.

“The program works because it is passing on savings from lower card fees directly to customers and that’s a great way to instill loyalty,” Mr. Lenard wrote in an email.

Fuel loyalty programs have become a key part of grocers’ business. Bloomberg Intelligence noted in January that fuel sales have become “a larger portion of revenue for grocers such as Kroger, Albertson’s, Safeway and Ingles as fuel-rewards programs gain traction and convenience helps build sales.”

“Even when fuel prices are lower, the programs reinforce value perception and encourage River in-store spending,” Bloomberg Intelligence said.

The new GetGo discount being offered comes in addition to a shopper’s Fuelperks+ benefit, the loyalty program that Giant Eagle tweaked in March by allowing customers to earn rewards on every transaction, not just fuel.

“Guests will have the option to stack their savings to get to a free tank faster by redeeming their perks, which will be applied after the AdvantagePay discount, or to earn perks for every gallon pumped,” according to GetGo.

AdvantagePay links customers’ Advantage Cards to their checking accounts through ZipLine, a thirdparty vendor based in Portland, Maine. ZipLine also works with Circle K, 7Eleven and other retailers, according to its website. Customers using the program can scan their card and use a personal four-digit code.

And a lot of drivers are literally willing to go the extra mile to save even a few cents on a tank of gas.

“We know that a significant percentage of the driving population would drive out of their way to save 5 cents a gallon,” Mr. Lenard continued. “There is an emotional connection to the price of gas.”