Convenience store retailers are taking action to implement new technology programs that will transform their C-store business, and Casey’s is one of the chains at the forefront.
With more than 2,400 stores in 16 states, Casey’s General Stores is innovating in technology, including building order processing apps, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), and offering delivery. In this and other respects, CStore Decisions presents Casey’s with one of his 2023 Technology Awards.
5 years ago
Just five years ago, Casey’s loyalty program, Box Tops, ordered a pizza, cut out the cardboard, and if a customer ate 10, they would get a free pizza.
“Many of our orders were placed over the phone, customers would call, we would take the order, write it down in a notebook, and tape it to the wall,” said Casey’s Digital Experience Director. Vice President, Art Sebastian said. “And then you put[the pizza]in a box and hopefully the guest picks it up and pays properly at the cash register.”
At the time, Casey’s had just celebrated its 50th anniversary.
“We took the time to look deep into ourselves and think, ‘How can we stay relevant for the next 50+ years? came,” said Sebastian.
digital upgrade
Casey’s decided to introduce an application programming interface driven technology stack and brought in the User Experience and User Interface teams to design the interface. Sebastian said he partnered with companies to build a “world-class tech stack.”
The chain has launched a new website, mobile app, and loyalty program, as well as a marketing stack to reach customers through email, in-app messages, and more. Additionally, Casey has centralized and consolidated customer data through her platform. for personalized marketing.
“We sold more pizza as a result,” says Sebastian. “We have over 6 million Rewards members and 50% of them are active monthly, so there’s a lot of goodness there.”
In another trajectory, Casey’s is piloting self-checkout and further developing its retail media network, Casey’s Access.
Order processing
Casey’s piloted an order fulfillment app a year and a half ago and launched it company-wide six months ago.
“Like a grocery store, the app displays the products so you can go pick them up, scan them, and stage them to ensure the accuracy of orders for guests,” says Sebastian. says. “Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Casey’s bag of chips, Mountain Dew, they’re all served with pizza. Thanks to technology, it’s now an exact order.”
According to Sebastian, more store team members are using the app, and order accuracy has improved dramatically.
Technology guides the picking and staging of items so they are never forgotten. This has resulted in an increase in Customer Overall Satisfaction Score (OSAT) and Net Promoter His Score (NPS).
“Eventually … when we see good OSAT and NPS, the virtual cycle continues and our guests keep ordering, so we get their business,” said Sebastian. I was.
Casey’s now also offers DoorDash and Uber Eats delivery, and has launched curbside pickup. Plus, Casey’s has its own delivery driver.
“We are indifferent to delivery drivers. …We are flexible in any way we can serve our guests,” Sebastian said.
In addition, Casey’s kitchen has an order management system (OMS) that acts as the “brain”. of the kitchen. ” When the order comes in, I let a member of the kitchen team print the ticket and prepare the order. OMS also adjusts the Smart Promise Time.
“When you order a pizza from us, Smart Promise Time goes through all the details of your order – pizza, pops, ice cream, pizza complexity – and then looks at the store’s allotted working hours to give us We kick back what we call Smart Promise Time, so it’s the technology at work,” Sebastian said.
Working AI
Casey’s has also piloted automated voice ordering using AI in many of its stores. An AVA (Automated Voice Assistant) interacts with the customer and takes the order. At this point the order enters her OMS.
Using AVA allowed Casey’s to shift its workforce from answering phones to making pizzas.
Prior to AVA, Casey was leveraging AI to optimize its marketing practices. Emails are sent in bulk to different segments of customers based on the times when customers typically use email. Even better, AI can help you determine which platforms your customers are likely to use and target your messages accordingly.
This AI can also modify sent emails based on real-time data to optimize open rates.
“We serve rural areas. Half of our stores are in small towns. I think we bring it down to earth,” Sebastian said.
