How a Midwest Retailer Grew Revenue with Skupos Amidst a Pandemic

About the Retailer:

• 80+ locations across the Midwest
• In business for over 60 years
• Joined Skupos 2019

Key Business Outcomes:

• Improved tobacco-related revenue by more than 10%
• Increased repeat foot traffic and per-visit sales value
• Accessed bigger discounts and promotions to compete with larger regional and national chains

“Skupos has changed the way we think about and measure success, helping us see past profits per store and focusing more on prioritizing customer retention to build a more solid and predictable foundation for long-term success.” -Director of Operations, Chain

Since the late 1950’s, a leading midwestern convenience retail chain has owned and operated more than 80 branded gas stations in the midwest. Like many retail businesses across the country, they had always run on low-margins — an accepted business reality in the convenience retail world during normal times. But the uncertainty and havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that turned entire industries upside down took a particularly brutal toll on fuel and convenience retail operators.

“The retail fuel business is really a numbers game that depends heavily on the amount of customers that come through the door each day,” says the Director of Operations for the chain. “Our smaller stores had already been struggling a bit with consistent revenue, but the COVID-related shut downs and stay-at-home orders absolutely crushed our normal foot traffic expectations.”

Eager to recover lost revenues and find new ones to solidify operating margins, the company wanted a low-effort, low-cost way to do more for local customers who were likelier to repeatedly visit and spend more money per visit — provided they had the right incentive to purchase more than just a full tank of gas.

In response, they joined Skupos Engage to offer their customers brand-funded consumer discounts usually only available to national chains. The platform features fully-managed promotional programs that make it easy for the company to offer enticing discounts for everyday fuel store products like tobacco — with future program plans for snacks and beverages — helping bring in more foot traffic and repeat business to their stores without having to pay for the promotions out of pocket.

Since joining Skupos in April 2019, they have seen a surge in foot traffic and sales across its locations, including their smaller stores in more remote locations. “Tobacco sales have trended down industry-wide for years, but we’ve bucked the trend and have been able to increase ours,” the Director of Operations explains.

“The promotions we can offer through Skupos have been so well-received and effective that we’ve actually grown our tobacco-related revenues by more than 10% — even during the most painful economic crisis we’ve seen in generations.”

He adds that in an industry full of tools and technologies that seem to break all the time, Skupos Engage and the expert staff supporting it have proven to be steady and reliable. His team’s success amid tough economic times gives him confidence that they’ll have the tools, expertise, and data to make even greater revenue gains as business — and the world — continues to return to normal.