How personalization can create real customer behavior change

See how the offers in Upside’s marketplace influence customers to shift their trips and skip the competition.

Personalized, exclusive incentives have the power to shift where people spend. Even more than that, though, they shift how much they spend, and the products and services they choose to buy when they transact.

Indeed, personalized promotions are an essential part of habit-building for customers — and when these habits start to form, retailers can build true loyalty with shoppers who were previously uncommitted.

To get a clearer sense of what this behavior change looks like, let’s drill down to the customer level. When we look at behavior change in just one person, we get a better sense of what that impact could really look like when you multiply it by hundreds of thousands (even millions) of QuikTrip customers.

Meet Orion, a real Upside user

Orion is a real customer and Upside user who frequently transacts near a QuikTrip station in Colorado. He’s a real-world example of the Upside effect.

Before Upside, Orion spent an average of $48 per month on fuel at the relevant stations in his area. After Upside, though, his spending jumped to $297 per month — a 6x increase in monthly spend at stations that participate in the Upside marketplace.

Over 12 months, Orion transacted more than 100 times at Upside fuel stations — averaging more than two visits per week. Ultimately, he purchased 1,240 incremental gallons of fuel at three stations within just minutes of a QuikTrip.

By his own admission, Orion has changed his behavior because of Upside. He says he:

Drives out of his way for Upside offers.
Buys more inside the store as a result.
Plans fuel purchases specifically around available Upside offers.

And to retailers that don’t join Upside, Orion shares a simple message: “You’re missing out on some people’s business!”

In this instance, QuikTrip (as a competitor that’s not currently on Upside) sees a clear loss in loyalty. Orion visits less, instead taking his business to the stations at which he can claim Upside offers. And furthermore, he says he’d only be willing to return to QT if he could claim Upside offers there.

This not only underscores the importance of the Upside marketplace in today’s fuel landscape, but also highlights the importance of the first-mover advantage. All over the country, customers are bypassing stations on their route to prioritize those that are on Upside. And with a limited number of stations allowed to join in each market, those that act quickly can see the biggest returns. QuikTrip still has time to secure spots in the marketplace for roughly 45% of its stations, enough to make a real, incremental impact on the business.

QuikTrip is clearly losing out on business from customers like Orion — so join the marketplace now before more stations are blocked and you can’t win them back.

Harness the power of personalization

This individual story illustrates exactly how personalized incentives can change one person’s behavior. The beauty of Upside — personalization at scale, plus an exclusivity model that is designed to support our partners — lies in multiplying that one story by millions of customers nationwide. For fuel retailers seeking to grow foot traffic and their bottom line, there’s nothing that compares to the demonstrated, repeatable nature of these profitable gains in trip frequency and spend per visit.