Dive Brief:

• C-store chain Yesway has shifted the Yesway and Allsup’s Rewards programs to loyalty and e-commerce company Stuzo and its Wallet Steering technology, according to a Wednesday press release. 
• The new program with Philadelphia-based Stuzo should launch later in 2023, and is expected to give Yesway an opportunity to increase its one-to-one relationships with loyalty members.
• Stuzo’s Wallet Steering technology examines what consumers spend across all retailers, then sends them targeted offers to drive repeat purchases at those retailers, according to information from the company. 

Dive Insight:

Stuzo’s technology aims to add incremental dollars to retailers’ sales by encouraging shoppers to buy more of the products they are already looking to purchase at a particular store. 

“When we first launched Yesway Rewards, we created a foundation for rewarding our customers,” said Darrin Samaha, vice president of marketing at Yesway. “Through our partnership with Stuzo, we’re confident we can build on our past success and scale up our program compared to where we are today in ways that matter most to our business — member count and transaction volume paired with profitable incremental bottom line growth.” 

The agreement comes with a 1.5x performance guarantee, meaning Yesway should see at least a 50% increase from current levels in both members and loyalty transactions, according to the announcement.

Yesway is using Stuzo’s full Open Commerce suite, which includes Wallet Steering, InstantJoin technology and a number of other tools to manage the loyalty offers. The companies are still working on what the go-to-market experience will look like when finalized, Samaha said in an email, including a potential integration with discount fueling app Mudflap for professional drivers. 

This new loyalty approach comes amid a time of great change for Yesway. In addition to gearing up to re-file for an initial public offering, the company is also looking to build 28 new stores this year.  

Fort Worth, Texas-based Yesway, operates about 435 Yesway and Allsup’s locations in rural and suburban parts of Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. Allsup’s in particular maintains a focus on foodservice, sometimes acting as a de facto grocery store for its communities.