Convenience Technology Vision Group (CTVG) has released a new Vision Report, “Loyalty in Focus: Convergence Across Apps, Social, and Consumer Experience,” examining how convenience retailers are evolving beyond traditional discount-based programs to create integrated digital ecosystems that combine mobile apps, social media strategies, and emerging technologies like gamification and AI.

The CTVG quarterly meeting, held on September 5, 2025, was facilitated by Ed Collupy, principal of Collupy System Solutions LLC, and featured an in-depth discussion among industry leaders about the challenges and opportunities in modern customer loyalty programs.

This comprehensive discussion explored how convenience retailers are navigating the convergence of loyalty programs, mobile applications, and social media to create meaningful customer engagement while addressing technology integration challenges and measuring success in an increasingly digital marketplace.

Additionally, the group revisited a previous discussion on digital identity to gauge member use and opinions, and Vision Group Network (VGN) director of strategic growth initiatives Robert Hampton presented an opportunity around a VGN initiative academic partnerships.

Key takeaways in the report include:

  • The Evolution of Customer Loyalty Programs: Convenience retailers are shifting from traditional physical loyalty cards to app-based systems that prioritize active engagement over simple enrollment metrics. “It’s expensive to do, but we’re really focused on looking at active members, not just downloads. It’s who’s in the app? How often are they in the app?” said Chris Egan, CIO at United Dairy Farmers.
  • Strategic Social Media Integration: Retailers are learning to distinguish between social media for brand personality and apps for direct customer value, recognizing that each channel serves distinct functions in the customer journey. “Social is more where we show a little bit more of our personality. We talk to people more. You can talk about what you’re doing in the community. You can just have a contest,” said Andrea Neurohr, VP of marketing at Coen Markets.
  • The Rise of Gamification in Loyalty Programs: Interactive games and challenges are becoming powerful tools for customer engagement, with retailers seeing significant increases in app usage when gamification elements are properly promoted and integrated. “We know that our customers like to play games where we feel like they’re engaging with our brand. And so that’s just another way that we feel like we’ll keep them front and center as we have some competition that’s moving into our areas and it separates us from the competition,” said Amy Wood, director of enterprise IT at Friendly Express, Inc.
  • Technology Integration Challenges and Data Modernization: Retailers face significant obstacles in connecting disparate systems for loyalty, social media, and payment platforms, requiring substantial data transformation efforts to achieve unified customer visibility. “You have to transform your data, you have to modernize your approach with your data because if you’re still using your old database, your old transactional-style databases, then you’re going to have a hard time pulling that data out and using it and organizing it, transforming it, and keeping it into a state that you can use it consistently,” said Luis Ackerman, vice president of technology at The Spinx Company.
  • Measuring Success and Defining ROI: Successful loyalty programs require treating loyalty as a profit center rather than just a customer retention tool, with sophisticated analysis of customer behavior before, during, and after promotional campaigns. “We really try to treat loyalty as a profit center on our end. So it really is about driving dollars to the bank,” said Ryan Mulka, loyalty marketing manager at The Spinx Company.
  • AI and the Future of Customer Engagement: Artificial intelligence is emerging as a powerful tool for data analytics and real-time promotional strategies, with retailers exploring AI-driven solutions for personalized customer experiences. “AI is a very powerful tool when built properly to help transform, normalize, slice and dice your data,” said Nick Peters, vice president of IT at Campbell Oil Company.
  • Academic Partnership Opportunities for Innovation: Vision Group Network is exploring academic collaborations to leverage university resources for industry innovation, using both semester-long capstone projects and shorter hackathons to solve business challenges while creating talent pipelines. “[For] students today and universities today, it’s all about these experiential learning opportunities that are making a difference, and universities and students are looking to do these kinds of things. So I think coming up with the problem and what we’re looking to solve would be a fun thing to do,” said Ed Collupy, principal, Collopy System Solutions and CTVG facilitator.
  • Digital Identity Implementation Progress: While digital identity solutions like TruAge show promise for age verification, adoption remains limited due to inconsistent state regulations, customer uptake challenges, and the need for continued physical ID requirements in many jurisdictions. “If every state’s going to do this themselves, how do you make sure that it works across the board?” asked Erin Graziosi, president at Robinson Oil, highlighting consumer confusion around varying state programs.