Dive Brief:
- Arko Corp., parent company of c-store retailer GPM Investments, added 365,000 loyalty members in the third quarter, CEO, Chairman and President Arie Kotler said in the company’s latest earnings call.
- These gains represent nearly 20% of the roughly 1.85 million total members enrolled in its fas Rewards loyalty program at the end of the quarter. Kotler noted that enrollment is also up 50% from the end of Q3 2022.
- Arko has been putting a heavier focus on fas Rewards in 2023, updating the program and app in March and running an enrollment promotion through September.
Dive Insight:
Kotler attributed much of the Q3 membership gain to the special $10 loyalty enrollment promotion the company ran as part of its 100 Days of Summer event, ending on Sept. 19. The program was so successful that Arko began a second phase of the offer on Nov. 1.
Arko is aiming to enroll 3 million loyalty members by the end of 2024, Kotler said in the call.
The company has put a larger emphasis on its loyalty program overall in 2023. The company’s app relaunch in March added features such as app-only deals for members, a virtual wallet and app-based ordering for delivery and pick-up. It also uses geofencing to give rewards members offers for their local stores.
Loyalty members visit stores four more times per month and spend about $41 more, on average, than other customers, according to the earnings call. This was down from six more trips and $68.50 more in spending per month in the second quarter, but Kotler attributed the drop in part to the large number of new members, many of whom may not have had a chance to mature into more regular shopping habits by the end of the reporting period.
Almost 20% of Q3 merchandise sales were attributed to loyalty members.
“We believe that mix can grow, and hope to achieve 30%-plus merchandise sales penetration over time,” Kotler said.
Richmond, Virginia-based Arko has more than 1,500 c-stores in 33 states under a variety of brands in its GPM Investments arm, including E-Z Mart, Breadbox, ExpressShop and Pride.
