FUEL LOYALTY REPORT, 2017
GasBuddy and CSP collaborated on this study to provide the fuel industry with insights to launch,
improve or revamp their loyalty programs.
Key Insights
1
Brand loyalty does not exist yet; loyalty programs have
yet to create it.
2
You may be in trouble if your program does not leverage
mobile or broad earn-and-use opportunities.
3
Loyalty works. The best programs listen and respond to
consumer feedback.
About This Study
In February 2017, GasBuddy surveyed its users to learn what drives participation in fuel loyalty
programs. Nearly 11,000 GasBuddies responded to nine questions. These are not your “average”
gas consumers, but rather some of the most avid drivers, the most frequent purchasers of fuel,
and the most selective when it comes to filling up. The following data and analysis offers insight
into how to use loyalty programs to attract and retain this critical segment.
LOYALTY REPORT 2017
1
Many Consumers Don't Belong to a Loyalty Program
There are several common types of loyalty programs in the fuel space today. The variation in
programs is driven mainly by the different types of retail models. While some fuel brands are
wholesalers with no ownership over the stations selling their fuel, other brands own and
operate chains of fuel and convenience stores. The loyalty programs for national big brands
are more likely to be focused on payment card offers, supermarket partnerships, and simple
cents-off programs, with reward points programs showing the highest adoption among survey
respondents (Figure 1). The owned and operated convenience store chains typically show
more integration between pump and store with integrated coupons and spontaneous offers.
80
70%
64.91%
56.01%
60
50%
40
30%
21.45%
20
6.20%
10%
0
Fuel-branded credit Reward points Grocery points
or debit card
program
program
Other
Figure 1: Reward points and grocery points programs are the
most popular fuel loyalty programs among survey respondents.
LOYALTY REPORT 2017
2
Large Market Opportunity for Fuel Retailers
Since the GasBuddy audience is primarily comprised of people who drive frequently and are
cost-conscious, it is not surprising that many of them are interested in being rewarded for their
fuel-related purchases. What is surprising is that 46% of GasBuddies do not belong to a
fuel-related loyalty program (Figure 2).
These users represent an untapped opportunity. We asked this group what would convince
them to use a fuel-based loyalty program. Most users cite higher rewards or the benefit of not
being tied to a single brand, as shown in Figure 3. Beyond those, the next most common
responses all relate to convenience. Consumers want easy-to-use programs and the ability to
transact without additional steps, such as remembering/typing in their membership number at
the pump.
Easy-to-use
programs 36.03%
No
46.06%
Yes
53.94%
Higher reward
for participation 63.89%
The ability to use
the card at more 53.54%
locations/with
more brands
More convenient 35.88%
locations
Figure 2: This chart
demonstrates there’s a sizeable
market opportunity—nearly half
of respondents aren’t yet in a
program but do have interest in
fuel-related programs by virtue
of being GasBuddies.
A reminder to
use my card
Other
0%
13.22%
7.29%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Figure 3: The results of this survey question
provide good market intelligence into what would
incent prospects to join a loyalty program.
LOYALTY REPORT 2017
3
Strong Consumer
Loyalty Demonstrated
by Frequency of Use
Weekly
Monthly
Once every
four months
In general, Gasbuddies report being
extremely loyal to the programs in which
they participate. Nearly 90% use a loyalty
program at least once a month and 55%
use them weekly (Figure 4). Since most
people fill up their tanks once a week, these
results depict strong consumer loyalty.
In addition, 85% of respondents report
being very or somewhat influenced by their
loyalty membership in their choice of
where to fill up.
With an average of 3-4 fill-ups per month,
fuel matches grocery as the most frequent
local retail visit. It is no surprise that many
programs, such as Kroger Fuel Points and
Ahold Gas Rewards, combine fuel and
supermarket savings. Additional ways to
increase convenience (and therefore
likelihood of use) include integration with
mobile wallets, place-based reminders,
coalition programs like Plenti and Shell Fuel
Rewards, and integration with card
networks such as BP’s partnership with Visa
to link Driver Rewards to the consumer’s
payment card of choice.
Annually
Almost never
4.7%
0.9%
5.8%
33.5%
55.1%
Figure 4: Fuel loyalty program
members take advantage of their
program’s rewards by using their
program of choice often.
Consumers need convenience.
The most successful programs offer great
mobile apps, choice, and convenience.
LOYALTY REPORT 2017
4
Shell and Speedway
are Driving Share Gains
Top Loyalty Programs
The fuel category winners in our survey are:
Top National Big Brand
Aside from the grocery category, Shell and Speedway are
the most-used programs by GasBuddy respondents.
They are also big winners in the national big brand and
convenience store brand categories, respectively. As it
happens, Shell and Speedway both have 5-star rated
mobile apps. As the largest mobile fuel and convenience
app, GasBuddy knows that a well-designed mobile user
experience can make all the difference.
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.00
0.05
Shell Fuel Rewards
2nd
BP Driver Rewards
PLACE
PLACE
3rd
ExxonMobil
PLACE Speedpass & Plenti
Speedway is somewhat of an anomaly. It’s the most
popular fuel loyalty program in our survey (28% of our
users with a loyalty program belong to it). While the other
most popular loyalty programs are national brands,
Speedway, with a more regional footprint, drives
unmatched intensity with a mobile-first offering
combining generous benefits with the occasional
moments of “surprise and delight.”
0.30
1st
Top Regional Brand
This pattern continues with other owned and operated
convenience retailers. What they lack in footprint as
compared to national brands they make up for with
intensity of use on a per-store basis.
For regional brands, GasBuddy respondents favored
Thornton’s, followed by Sheetz. This category represents
regional chains of 150 or more locations.
1st PLACE
2nd PLACE
Thornton’s
Sheetz
Top C-Store Brand
Top Grocery Brand
Speedway
Kroger
27.4%
Total Responses
Adoption per station
11%
Figure 5: The Shell loyalty program was the
overwhelming favorite among national big brands, while
BP has a strong ratio of adoption to number of stations.
12.6%
10%
6.6%
5%
2%
Shell
BP
Exxon/
Mobile
4%
Sunoco
1.9% 2%
Chevron/
Texaco
1.9% 2%
Marathon
1.9% 2%
Phillips 66/
76/Conoco
1.4%
2%
1.1%
CITGO
LOYALTY REPORT 2017
1%
Valero
5
Summary and Recommendations
Cater to Mobile
While many popular loyalty programs have a mobile app component, not every consumer is
willing to allocate space on their mobile phone. Increasingly, loyalty providers are partnering
with companies to go beyond mobile and into a larger distribution model (Apple Wallet, Android
Pay, Samsung Pay and GasBuddy’s own wallet) to provide the greatest level of utility, storing the
loyalty program membership information where it’s easy to access and transact with.
Rewards Have to be Rewarding
Companies should be strategic and ensure that their programs offer enough incentive and
the right incentives to drive specific behaviors. Consumers need to feel the company’s
commitment to retaining their business.
It’s Not Too Late
Nearly 50% of the fuel-conscious consumers who responded to the survey do not belong to
any loyalty program. These are the perfect targets for fuel loyalty programs to go after due to
their interest in fuel-related programs and communications. The insights and analysis
uncovered by the survey provide fuel wholesalers and retailers in all categories with the key
ingredients for success.
Key Ingredients of Successful Fuel Loyalty Programs
1
Choice
2
Convenience
3
Surprise Rewards
LOYALTY REPORT 2017
6