Dive Brief:
- Alimentation Couche-Tard is now accepting supermarket chain Giant Eagles’ myPerks loyalty points at all 285 of its Circle K convenience stores in Ohio, according to a Tuesday announcement.
- Effective March 24, Circle K customers in Ohio can choose if they’d prefer to use Circle K’s Inner Circle rewards or myPerks while filling up on gas. MyPerks members can earn points on purchases at Giant Eagle and GetGo Café + Markets c-stores.
- This marks a significant step in the integration of GetGo — whose 270 c-stores Couche-Tard acquired last year — into the Canadian retailer’s U.S. c-store network.
Dive Insight:
Couche-Tard’s leadership said it was drawn to GetGo’s food and loyalty programs when it made its $1.6 billion acquisition of Giant Eagle's former c-store banner. Couche-Tard said it planned to continue accepting the myPerks platform at GetGo while also continuing to grow Inner Circle. As of last quarter, the latter hit over 13 million members across 5,000 stores in the U.S., according to Couche-Tard’s latest earnings report.
Last November, after its first full quarter with GetGo under its umbrella, Couche-Tard gave the myPerks program a test run at select stores in Ohio, letting members of the loyalty program redeem points at Circle K forecourts to offer customers more flexibility, Couche-Tard Chief Financial Officer Filipe Da Silva said during the retailer’s Q2 earnings call. Da Silva said Couche-Tard would “watch how it performs before looking at next steps.”
Couche-Tard appears to have been satisfied with that test since it’s now launched myPerks gas rewards at all 285 Circle K stores in Ohio. To redeem myPerks at Circle K, customers scan a QR code posted at the pump with a smartphone, and the Giant Eagle app will open with interactive prompts to complete the redemption process. Circle K’s Inner Circle loyalty app will continue to function as usual.
Representatives from Couche-Tard did not respond by press time when asked why this rollout is only happening in Ohio and if plans are in place to extend it to other states. Besides Ohio, Giant Eagle and GetGo operate in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana and Maryland — all of which also have Circle K c-stores.
“Integrating the popular myPerks program at all Ohio Circle K locations will give customers greater flexibility and more ways to save on fuel when they’re on the go,” said Hélène Drolet, vice president of the Great Lakes business unit at Circle K.
