Circle K launches drink subscription program for $5.99 per month
Convenience store chain Circle K is launching a beverage monthly subscription program.
With the popularity of subscription programs on the rise, leading c-store brand Circle K is launching its own beverage subscription program at $5.99 per month.
Customers in the U.S. will be able to have one tea, coffee, Froster slushy or Polar Pop fountain drink of their choosing every day starting Wednesday.
The model follows that of fast-food restaurants chains such as Burger King and Panera Bread. The Sip & Save program will include a host of different drink options.
“We really see this an opportunity to drive traffic at a time that people are just starting to come out of the understandable cocoons that they’ve been in for the last 12-plus months,” Kevin Lewis, chief marketing officer of Alimentation Couche-Tard, told CNBC.
Circle K has been testing the Sip & Save program over the last 90 days in more than 100 stores near Augusta, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina.
Subscription programs have been increasingly successful in for car wash operators such as Tommy Car Wash Systems. With Circle K taking the first step, we may see more retailers applying the model at gas stations and c-stores.
“Already a popular business model for digital brands such as Amazon Prime and Netflix, the subscription model has proven an unexpected success driving loyalty for convenience retailers, particularly coffee retailers and car wash operators, providing certainty for both retailers and consumers in these exceptionally uncertain times,” wrote loyalty expert Paula Thomas in an article for PetrolPlaza this year.
