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Hello!

Welcome to the 19th edition of Always Be Convenient, the weekly newsletter and mobile app with guidance for convenience leaders on how to navigate today’s digital world.

The archives have all past issues. 🗞️

Did you just do a double take on that opening line? ABC has a mobile app too? Yes, but more on that in just a minute.

This week we’ve got an exciting holiday that I bet you don’t know about. What is this mystery holiday? It’s National App Day!

Wednesday, December 11 has been declared National App Day by National Day Calendar. The holiday got its origins in 2017 when claimed by a mobile app development company. The developer is no longer in business – but there’s no shortage of attention on mobile apps.

Many retailers will take advantage of this smalliday this week to get their customers excited about downloading their app. Have you got a promotion planned? Reply to this email to share. I’d love to hear about it!

Now, back to the mobile app for this newsletter.

The next time you visit the Always Be Convenient website on your phone, hit the ‘Share’ button within your mobile browser (that’s the middle icon).

Scroll down to find the ‘Add to Home Screen’ option in the menu.

Next give the web app a name (like ABC), and then tap ‘Add’ to finish.

Now you’ve got Always Be Convenient conveniently on your Home Screen – making it easy to sign in and see all the unlocked content, get push notifications about new issues, and more.

Give this a try and let me know what you think. Would love to hear your feedback!

Conveniently,
Mike

P.S. If you’re still in holiday shopping mode, you can buy me a virtual coffee to show your support for this newsletter. ☕

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Is an app worth it?

As someone who got started in this industry just a few years after the iPhone was introduced in 2007, I can’t believe I’m even asking this question.

I might as well be asking one of these questions that sounds just as crazy:

• Should you invest in understanding your customer base?

• Is it worthwhile to have a direct connection with your best customers?

• Does telling more people about my brand help drive sales?

The answer to the first question, and each of those that followed, is a clear and resounding YES!

In my time across two convenience retailers I was responsible for the brand’s mobile app in both cases.

I launched a basic couponing app at my first retailer, and then upgraded the infrastructure with a custom-built app once we had a loyalty program in place.

At my second retailer I created a mobile app from scratch to replace a white label app that had outlived its usefulness as a glorified website.

Neither retailer questioned having an app. The questions were about our strategy, the app’s purpose in fulfilling that, and how we would make it valuable enough for customers to want to engage.

As part of my work with NexChapter I’ve been diving deep into the digitized state of the convenience industry.

Looking at the Top 202 convenience stores, more than half of these c-store retailers offer a mobile app today. And many are on their second or third iteration.

While most recently at Casey’s I launched what we called ‘App 3.0’ internally, introducing an all-new app design in the summer of 2023. The new app boasted a refreshed look, new rewards features, and special savings for the millions of loyalty members the company had recruited.

The app was critical to Casey’s business because of how the business positioned it.

Casey’s mobile app was the primary way new loyalty members joined the program, and the app drove the majority of direct pizza orders.

Those that are asking about a mobile app’s worth are likely stuck on the wrong question.

It’s not about the app itself – but rather what the app can unlock for your business.

Are you struggling to determine your app’s value? I’d love to talk. Email [email protected] to get in touch.