Han-Dee Hugo’s to launch its first mobile app

Dive Brief:

Han-Dee Hugo’s, which operates over 100 convenience stores throughout North Carolina, is in the process of building its first mobile app with the help of Rovertown, a spokesperson from the c-store app developer said via email.
The mobile app will be one of Han-Dee Hugo’s first forays into the digital customer experience. While there’s no timeline for when the app will officially launch, it’s expected to focus on customer rewards in addition to other facets of its business.
Han-Dee Hugo’s is the latest c-store retailer to reveal plans to build and launch its first mobile app. Both La Plata, Maryland-based Dash In and Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based Coen Markets debuted their apps in 2023.

Dive Insight:

Mobile app development was quietly one of the hotter trends in the c-store industry last year. Besides regional companies like Dash In and Coen Markets debuting their apps, major players such as 7-Eleven, Casey’s General Stores, Mapco and Parker’s revamped their existing offerings with user-friendly designs and new features.

For Han-Dee Hugo’s, developing its mobile app is a way for the company to introduce its “first digital storefront,” Douglas Parker, executive director of marketing at Sampson-Bladen Oil Company, parent company of Han-Dee Hugo’s, said in a statement.

“We look forward to continually adding new experiences within the app that will be certain to delight our amazing guests — and unlock a new standard of service for Han-Dee Hugo's,” Parker said.

For Rovertown, the partnership represents an opportunity to help a nearly 100-year-old c-store retailer begin driving digital results, Jeffry Harrison, co-founder and president of Rovertown, said in a statement.

Rovertown’s customizable platform lets c-store retailers build branded mobile apps and make self-service updates in real time. Apps built through Rovertown can integrate with any technology vendor and feature hyper-local marketing, mobile gaming and support for charitable campaigns.

Clinton, North Carolina-based Sampson-Bladen was founded in 1936, but didn’t become a c-store retailer until the first Han-Dee Hugo’s opened in 1980. Today, Sampson-Bladen operates 109 Han-Dee Hugo’s stores in addition to seven Subways, five Little Caesars and 23 car washes.