ExxonMobil is teaming up with mobile shopping application shopkick to offer rewards to customers who shop at its gas stations and convenience stores.

More than 375 Exxon or Mobil branded retail locations in and around Miami, NYC and Washington are participating in the pilot program. Customers who walk into one of the stores will receive 25 rewards points – or kicks – that can be redeemed at participating shopkick retailers.

“The partnership with Exxon marks shopkick’s convenience store arrival and the first time one of the largest gas station brands goes really big into mobile,” said Doug Galen, chief revenue officer at shopkick, Palo Alto, CA.

“This vertical is especially important because the conversion rates, from walk-in to purchase, are so high,” he said. “It is an incredible opportunity for ExxonMobil because it is a market where rewards can significantly shift consumer behavior by driving visits to convenience stores from the pump – with the additional benefit of influencing where people fill up, in addition to whether or not they go into the store while there.

“Shoppers are becoming savvier. Brick and mortar retailers need to implement programs that add value to the in-store experience or they risk losing customers to those that do.”

What a kick
Through its partnership with shopkick, ExxonMobil is enhancing the shopping experience by letting customers earn rewards and encouraging customers purchasing gas to visit the convenience store as well.

This is shopkick’s first partner in the gas station/convenience store retail vertical.

The shopkick app works by detecting a signal from a device located in each participating store that is picked up by a shopper’s smartphone handset.

At launch, consumers will earn 25 kicks for walking into stores at ExxonMobil stations with shopkick. There are also many partner products at Exxon that can be scanned to earn additional kicks.

Kicks earned for walking into convenience stores at Exxon stations can be redeemed for anything in shopkick’s rewards mall, including for in-store gift cards, song downloads, movie tickets and Facebook Credits.

Currently, there are not any Exxon-specific rewards available in shopkick’s rewards mall.

National retailers such as Target and Best Buy as well as major brands such as Procter & Gamble use Shopkick to enable customers to earn rewards that can be used with participating retailers.

Shopkick enables merchants to reward only those customers who are physically present in its stores.

The shopkick app is available to download for free from Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

Measurable results
ExxonMobil is using shopkick to express it appreciation to customers and to encourage them to keep coming back by rewarding them each time they visit.

ExxonMobil’s loyalty offerings also include a return and earn offer and the ExxonMobil Personal Card.

“We hear from retail partners that work with both shopkick and others that in comparison our users drive more revenue, bigger baskets and margin,” Mr. Galen said.

“For example, The Sports Authority had 50-70 percent more users walk into stores when it increased shopkick rewards for visiting,” he said. “There is a direct, measurable correlation that shopkick’s model works.”