7-Eleven Evolves Via Mobile

7-Eleven has significantly amped up its mobile prowess in recent years, building its customer database and increasing the role that mobile assets play in shopper marketing activity.Competing for that highly profitable, on-the-go trip mission and serving a high percentage of Millennial shoppers who are smartphone users and generally receptive to mobile offers, 7-Eleven is increasingly active in the mobile space. The retailer provides plenty of room for integration by national brands that offer promotions and deals that bring in new shoppers, build loyalty, increase trips and baskets, or generally help the retailer stand out from the competition.Brands can step into the spotlight in a number of ways, the simplest of which is supplying exclusive coupons through the retailer’s app. The coupons typically include offers such as BOGOs, that often tie in proprietary items, or free national-brand product.Over the summer, for example, the retailer staged a weeklong celebration for its July 11 “birthday” during which it encouraged downloads of its app by dangling free-product coupons for the retailer’s proprietary Big Gulp and Slurpee drinks, Mars Inc.’s birthday cake-flavored M&M’s as well as Snickers and Twix ice cream bars, PepsiCo’s Grandma’s cookies and Quaker Chewy yogurt bars, Hostess Brands LLC’s Twinkies, and General Mills’ Pillsbury cookies.Mobile coupons were requested more than any other service when 7-Eleven solicited ideas from its Facebook fans during the development process for its app, which was created with Austin, Texas-based digital advertising agency T3 and launched in February of 2013. Initial functionality included a store locator (with the capability to filter by key products and services), mobile coupons, product spotlights, as well as news on store events and specials. Continual updates have added additional capabilities, such as a rewards punch card that lets members earn a free coffee after their sixth cup.7-Eleven also simplified tracking customers’ purchase history with the introduction of single-member bar codes last May. Corresponding to users’ accounts, the bar codes are scanned at checkout to apply mobile coupons or simply register purchases that trigger more reward offers. The retailer can push targeted offers and product suggestions based on factors such as a user’s location, the time of day and the local weather.Mobile activity often supports exclusive product or packaging and played an integral role in the launches of products including a Pillsbury cinnamon roll bakery item and a new Diet Coke cherry-flavored Slurpee (that was later pulled due to quality issues related to its freezing consistency).Brands also can earn a spotlight by bringing additional assets to the table or tying in to a proprietary product for account-specific promotions, and the activity is not limited to 7-Eleven’s flagship app. PepsiCo’s AMP Energy, for example, leveraged its sponsorship of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. for an exclusive “AMP Energy PowerDash” mobile app in 2013. The app housed a racing game that had players earning points for prizes, including a meet-and-greet with Earnhardt. Geo-targeting technology embedded within the app delivered mobile alerts when players were near a 7-Eleven, encouraging them to visit the store and scan AMP Energy cans to earn game cheats and get product coupons.Meanwhile in Singapore, 7-Eleven and Japanese soft drink brand Pocari Sweat (from Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.) are offering a standalone application that leverages the popularity of the mobile fitness space to tracks runners’ progress and offer rewards. Beacons the retailer set up in its Singapore stores enable area-specific content customization as well as a variety of interaction responses, and let runners set goals through customized courses. Top runners have the chance to win a trip to a marathon by earning points for passing by a 7-Eleven (or “hydration point”), completing a course or making a Pocari Sweat purchase.Even as it experiments with the latest technology, 7-Eleven simultaneously continues to enable customers using feature phones to access its promotions and continues to run multiple SMS campaigns. For example, last winter Coca-Cola Co.’s Sprite helped promote 7-Eleven’s proprietary Big Gulp fountain drinks through an SMS-based “Drink. Text. Win” sweeps and instant-win game awarding prizes such as a trip to New Orleans to attend a concert at the House of Blues. Consumers entered by texting in codes found on promotional Big Gulp cups. The effort was an overlay to a national under-the-cap promotion from Sprite.7-Eleven also participates in third-party mobile applications Punchcard (from Gigway Inc., Pasadena, California) and Belly (Chicago) to let its customers earn rewards redeemable for prizes. The convenience store chain additionally works with shopping app Ibotta (Denver) and lottery-management app YooLotto (Seminole, Texas), for which it is the exclusive retail partner.