Talking Gas Pumps Know Your Name
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Convenience store cashiers may not remember their customers by name or recall their favorite soft drinks, but fuel dispensers soon will — thanks to enhancements announced by the U.S. forecourt merchandising provider, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Greensboro, North Carolina.
The company’s Applause Media System and Applause TV with Outcast will help retailers differentiate themselves by personalizing the customer experience– and boost site profits by tailoring content, promotions, and on-demand coupons based upon loyalty status and purchase history.
“We are launching an extremely robust loyalty interface for our Applause media platform,” says Richard Browne, vice-president of marketing for North America, Gilbarco Veeder-Root. “Targeted digital media at the forecourt gives c-store retailers a huge advantage over other retail formats. Retailers can greet fueling customers by name, anticipate their interests, and provide relevant offers or coupons for immediate redemption inside the store.”
Using the Applause loyalty interface, the Point of Sale, independent solution, will also allow retailers to easily combine mobile couponing and social media promotions directly from the pump. Gilbarco Veeder-Root is partnering with top loyalty providers Excentus, Kickback Points and Outsite Networks to design a generic interface to allow retailers to work with their preferred loyalty partner.
“Personalized marketing increases consumer interest and retailer success,” says Pat Lewis, CEO of Kickback Points. “With Applause, we add the benefits of printing coupons straight from the fuel dispenser and providing a direct link to social media and mobile technologies – it’s a win-win.”
“By maintaining their point of sale independence and gaining input from loyalty providers, such as Excentus, Gilbarco is definitely ensuring the flexibility to have an innovative solution,” says Mike Melson, senior vice-president technical operations for Excentus.
Gilbarco Veeder-Root will offer retailers this new functionality through the Applause digital media platform, which uses large color screens integrated in the dispenser to drive customer loyalty and in-store sales.
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