Dive Brief:

• Convenience store retailer Parker’s has launched a new mobile app built with enhanced security features and a user-friendly design, according to a Wednesday press release. The app also will include personalized customer offerings as it matures.
• Like its previous one, Parker’s new app lets customers order Parker’s Kitchen food and pay for gas through their phones. Paying for gas requires a personal identification number (PIN) and confirming the site location in the app.
• The launch comes just a few weeks after Parker’s updated its website with more interactive elements and live fuel pricing for its locations.

Dive Insight:

E-commerce and mobile experiences have been vital to Parker’s for years. After launching its first app in 2016, Parker’s saw a 40% usage increase of its rewards app during the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic, led largely by the increase in people using contactless payments.

“Our Parker’s Rewards app has been extremely popular with customers and now offers a number of upgraded features designed to ensure a frictionless check-out experience and increased security,” said Parker’s Founder and CEO Greg Parker. “We’re committed to staying on the leading edge of mobile app technology to make life easier, safer and more convenient for our customers.”

The new app’s security improvements requires customers to attach their phone number to their account, so verification codes can be sent to make sure the account is being used on the appropriate device, helping avoid fraud, according to an email from a Parker’s spokesperson. The new app also prevents screenshotting or screen recording of coupon barcodes.

As the app matures, Parker’s will look to tailor coupons and offers to customers based on aspects, such as purchase history or whether they’re a member of the Chewy’s Drink Club subscription program. While those features are not live yet, the spokesperson said they will be activated in the coming months. The user-specific features will allow Parker’s to do “more targeted offerings such as free energy drink promos to people who typically purchase energy drinks, or a free chicken sandwich to folks who frequent the hot bar.”

The app also allows customers to track how close they are to a Parker’s Rewards loyalty discount. The program gives users 10 cents off per gallon for a fill-up at the pump when they spend $25 in-store. The discounts can be stacked to a total discount of up to $1 per gallon on a 25-gallon-or-less fill-up. 

Customers also can check member-only pricing and special offers, apply for jobs, sign up for Chewy’s Drink Club, check gas prices and more. Other planned features for the app include games, clubs and “special curated content for customers,” according to the announcement.

Parker’s new app is available in the App Store and Google Play. 

Savannah, Georgia-based Parker’s, which was founded in 1976, has more than 70 Parker’s and Parker’s Kitchens locations in Georgia and South Carolina. The chain has donated more than $22 million to support charitable initiatives and won a variety of industry awards.