The U.S. convenience store landscape is predominantly shaped by independent, mom-and-pop operators, who comprise about two-thirds of the 150,000 stores nationwide. Despite their deep community ties and personalized service, these businesses have historically struggled to match the technological capabilities, operational efficiency, and sophisticated customer loyalty programs of larger retail chains. As consumer preferences and expectations continue to evolve, these neighborhood stores face mounting challenges from outdated systems, escalating costs, and limited access to digital innovation.
Addressing this digital divide, bp has embarked on a comprehensive initiative to deliver cutting-edge retail solutions to independent store owners while preserving their autonomy and local character. Central to this strategy are the Earnify loyalty app and the Crosscode Retail Operating System, developed to enhance both customer engagement and back-end store management. Earnify unifies loyalty rewards on a national scale, allowing independent stores to provide personalized promotions and leverage accumulated data for tailored marketing. Simultaneously, the cloud-based Crosscode platform automates routine maintenance, proactively resolves technical issues, and equips store owners with streamlined tools for inventory management and pricing, resulting in up to 20 percent reductions in operating costs and improved uptime.
Personalization is a key driver in bp’s approach, with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning harnessed to curate individualized offers based on customer habits and regional trends. This enhances consumer satisfaction and frequency of visits, with metrics showing a 68 percent increase in active loyalty users and significant improvements in satisfaction among both shoppers and store staff. Beyond operational gains, bp’s agile, customer-obsessed model means new features are quickly tested and deployed in response to real-world feedback. The goal, as articulated by Tarang Sethia, GM of digital products for bp Americas, is to augment—not replace—human expertise, enabling frontline workers to deliver exceptional service and maintaining the distinctiveness of local operators. In doing so, bp aspires to create a thriving ecosystem where technology amplifies the entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of America’s convenience sector.
