Rutter’s claims industry first with coupon iPhone app

Rutter’s Farm Stores, the Pennsylvania, US-based convenience store chain, has launched an electronic coupon feature via its iPhone application. The company claims it is a first for c-stores in the US and is available as a free download from www.rutters.com.

Customers who already have the Rutter’s app, which can be used to locate their nearest store and check current petrol prices, can download an update to enable them to receive coupons and offers.

Rutter’s said its mobile coupons will vary over time to include offers for money off fuel or other items, buy-one-get-one-free, or even free items.

The retailer has been working with suppliers on the technology and the first set of coupons will be sponsored by the Hershey, Pepsi and Rutter’s Dairy.

“We believe that Rutter’s is the first convenience store in the United States to introduce coupons on a mobile phone,” said Scott Hartman, president and CEO of Rutter’s Farm Stores, who will present the technology at Insight’s Future of International Convenience Retailing event on 23 September in London.

Scott Hartman

“We’ve made a significant commitment to our customers to provide them with the latest technology, from our web site and social media to mobile applications, which now include money-saving coupons,” said Hartman.

Hartman said the mobile apps were focused on 18-30 year-old age group but not exclusively.

“Mobile apps are but just one more way to communicate with our various segments of customers,” he said. “Not all customers read newspaper ads, listen to the radio, watch TV commercials or read our in-store signage. Marketing and store offers need to be tailored to the audiences they are designed to reach. We believe that industry media methods will need to adjust to the increasingly fragmented ways customers want to be touched and communicated with and our mobile app goes to the core of a group of customers we value highly.”

Customers who open the Rutter’s iPhone app will find coupons under ‘deal alerts’. When a customer clicks ‘use it now’, a coupon appears on the screen for a short amount of time, during which it can be scanned at the checkout – without any paper required.

Rutter’s said the iPhone app also makes it easier to use its Rutter’s Rewards loyalty card, which allows customers to earn money off fuel when purchasing from more than 1,600 everyday items featuring a special display icon.

Customers can register their cards using the app. Clicking the ‘Rutter’s Rewards’ icon pulls up their member number and bar code, which can be used instead of a Rutter’s Rewards card or key fob for transactions.

Rutter’s said this feature met with approval from customers who want to take advantage of the benefits associated with a loyalty card but prefer the ease of using their mobile device.

Hartman told Global Convenience Store Focus: “We have already gotten emails from users of the app telling us how cool the app is and how much they like it. I can’t remember the last time we got customer feedback regarding our media outreach with the word ‘cool’ attached.”

Rutter’s said more than 150,000 customers have saved money on petrol since Rutter’s Rewards was introduced last autumn.

Rutter’s plans to introduce apps for Blackberry and Droid mobile devices in the coming months.

According to Hartman, the number of suppliers will also increase.

“We have been working under non-disclosure agreements with numerous suppliers on this and other projects. Social media and mobile marketing are a really fun journey with no end in sight to using creativity and technology to drive more sales in an economically challenging time.”

Family-owned and third generation-managed, York-based Rutter’s Farm Stores www.rutters.com operates 54 convenience stores in York, Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin and Lancaster counties.

Rutter’s: industry first in US

Rutter's electronic mobile couponing: a c-store first in US

Hershey is supplying coupons on the Rutter's iPhone app