Excentus : An Advantage is in the Cards




	An Advantage is in the Cards

	An advantage is in the cards Many grocery retailers around operate card-based frequent shopper program aiming to spark loyalty to a store or to several banners in a chain. Over the years, these programs have had a spotty record: some have worked, while others have been shut down. Few of them have been as successful as Giant Eagle's Advantage Card. "Our original intention was to provide a unique value to more customers by being able to offer promotions that were tailored to them," recalls Laura Karet, Executive Vice President/Chief Sales Officer. "Our first ten years of experience with the Advantage Card was all about offering individualized promotions based on people's individual purchases." With 3.5 million card holders, it's hard to dispute the card's success. But what has taken the program to a higher level is adding a fuel marketing program that debuted about four years ago. "We are continuing to individualize promotions, but with the rapid growth of our fuel business, the main differentiating factor of our Advantage Card right now is the ability to offer fuel perks!" explains Karet.. fuel perks! enables loyal shoppers to lower their price of gasoline. Earning discounts begins by scanning the Advantage Card each time a purchase is made at a Giant Eagle supermarket or GetGo convenience store. When shoppers spend $50, they earn 10 cents off every gallon on the next fill-up at GetGo. Redeeming the fuel discounts calls for scanning the Advantage Card at the GetGo pump, wait for the OK light, and following the instructions. To use the discount, press YES and the price of gas will drop. Pressing NO saves the discount for a future visit. Purchases add up, and there is no limit on how many discounts a shopper can earn. Giant Eagle tracks the discounts and shows customers the latest tally on the bottom of the receipt they receive at checkout. The technology and integration services behind the process are provided by Excentus Corp. "Giant Eagle has done an outstanding job of nurturing the fuel perks! program," says Dickson Perry, CEO of the Irving, Texas-based company. "Having firmly established the basic premise of fuel perks! with their customers, they continually find new ways to use technology to enrich the program. Whether it's adding new categories like gift cards, or incorporating new technologies like IBM's Store Integration Framework, they are constantly seeking new ways to make the program more beneficial and appealing to Giant Eagle and its customers." Says Karet: "fuel perks! is really an amazing program. Having been involved in marketing for a long time, I have never come across anything that is quite as powerful as what we have." -- John Karolefski 30 MAY 2007 WWW.GROCERYHEADQUARTERS.COM Grocery Headquarters Magazine Macfadden Communications Group 333 Seventh Ave. 11th Floor New York, N.Y. 10001 (212) 979-4800

An advantage is in the cards