3 min read
Coen Markets took the crown as the Convenience Loyalty Program of the Year in the 2026 Paytronix Loyaltees, our signature awards program recognizing the most productive and impressive customer engagement programs of the year.
Coen stood out for exceptional creativity, innovation, and success with their loyalty program, which used smarter segmentation, personalized offers, and data-driven outreach to unlock a powerful 27% increase in unique visitors over the prior year – as well as a 28% increase in total visits. Coen saw loyalty penetration over 40% at some locations.
Coen won this year’s recognition for a program that isn’t just sending more messages, it creates better experiences for guests to engage with the brand through smarter engagement.
We sat down with Andrea Neurohr, Vice President of Marketing at Coen Markets, to learn how they leverage the Paytronix guest engagement platform to drive impactful results without overwhelming their guests.
Paytronix: Tell us a bit about guest engagement at Coen Markets. How is technology helping to better reach, engage and incentivize guests?
Andrea: Guest engagement starts long before people even step foot inside our stores at Coen Markets. Customers have choices, and we know that. Whether they’re already using our loyalty program or not, we want them to choose us every time.
To make that happen, we built our mobile app using Rovertown, which integrates seamlessly with the Paytronix platform. With Paytronix we can push out personalized messaging and unique, tailored deals. Then when a user logs on, they see a highly customized homepage view built specifically for them.
The key for us is maintaining the right cadence of communication. We want to get in front of our guests, but we never want to do it in an invasive or "big brother" way. Paytronix gives us complete control over how often and how we engage. It provides the unique ability to leverage communication precisely when we want to, while ensuring we don't bother guests when they prefer not to be contacted.
With the technology in place, our current focus remains heavily on optimizing the immediate, personalized mobile experience.
Paytronix: When your loyalty program really hits the mark and feels relevant, how do your guests respond?
Andrea: You see it immediately in how they pay with their wallets and their feet. In a region where customers have plenty of choices, you know right away if they see value in your program. We track whether our transactions, trips, and membership numbers are rising month-over-month and year-over-year. The convenience industry is incredibly seasonal, so looking at it from a year-over-year perspective tells us if we are successfully stealing market share from our competitors. When penetration goes up, it means more people are actively choosing to use loyalty on a per-trip basis—whether they are at the pump or inside the store.
Paytronix: The C-Store market is crowded. How do you create a guest experience that keeps people choosing Coen Markets over competitors?
Andrea: We view loyalty as a mutual give-and-take. We know we can't expect a visit from someone without giving them something meaningful in return. To thank our guests for giving us space on their phones and in their lives, we offer immediate baseline discounts just for joining Club Coen. Members get a 3-cent-per-gallon discount at the pump every single day, along with 99-cent any-size coffee or fountain drinks inside the store. It is free to join, and we make these everyday benefits incredibly easy to access. On top of those baselines, we layer on rotating daily and monthly deals, special contests, and exclusive access to unique experiences like celebrity appearances.
Paytronix: You have been continuously updating your loyalty strategy over the last few years. How is the technology helping you get smarter about how you engage with your guests?
Andrea: The Paytronix platform has allowed us to deeply understand our data on a one-to-one level, rather than just relying on generic industry trends. A major shift for us over the last year or two was moving away from the old-school 30, 60, or 90-day lapse metrics. Now, we use automated nurturing and win-back campaigns to catch guests the moment their unique routine changes. If one customer normally visits twice a week and another visits once a month, the system recognizes those individual patterns. We can bucket them differently and deliver the exact incentive they need—whether that's a fuel discount, a deal on their favorite sandwich, or a family meal promotion. This individualized approach means we aren't wasting margins on unnecessary discounts, and the customer gets an offer that actually serves them.
Paytronix: Looking closely at consumer behavior over the past year, what notable guest trends are you seeing as we move through 2026, and how will they shape the future?
Andrea: Value is front and center, and it isn't going away anytime soon. Customers are actively hunting for deals and looking for any break they can get at the pump or inside the store, which has driven up our Club Coen memberships and engagement with our value partnerships, like Upside.
We are noticing that guests might come in a little more frequently but fill up a bit less each time. That economic pressure means they are heavily taking advantage of our in-store food promotions, like our "two-for" deals.
Convenience will always matter, but right now, being there for our customers with real, tangible value is what builds lasting loyalty. If we can give them a break when times are tough, they will remember us down the road.