We’ll wash our hands after using the restroom, and wipe down grocery cart handles before going shopping. But for some reason, many of us don’t think twice about grabbing a gas pump to fill up our car and then heading on our way – after hundreds of other grimy-handed drivers have done the same.
Eeew.
A Colorado company is proposing a solution that could keep you healthy, and save you some money in the process, by combining sanitary gloves – and coupons.
Grabbies Media has officially unveiled “Grabbies”, disposable compostable gloves available in free dispensers placed near gas pumps. It’s a nice thing for gas stations to offer their customers – but it’s not just about being nice. It’s also about getting you to go inside and buy something before you leave.
Those free gloves don’t pay for themselves, after all.
Brands sponsor the gloves by placing advertising messages on the dispensers, and attaching tear-off coupons to the gloves themselves. So the idea is, if the offer is attractive to you, the gas station can get you into its store, the brands can sell you something, you don’t get sick from touching grimy gas pump handles, and everybody wins.
“I’m on the run and I always buy snacks at convenience stores,” Grabbies’ promotional material quotes one user as saying. “I hate touching pumps then eating – and Grabbies solves that for me.”
“We were surprised to learn that there is nothing else like it,” said Grabbies Media president Jacquie Perello. “We saw an opportunity to create a product that helps stop the transmission of bacteria on one of the germiest places – a gas pump.”
And the coupons are a nice touch, too. “It’s an added bonus for us to provide consumers a discount on key products at the convenience store on every glove,” Perello added.
Gas stations are always trying to get you to come inside and spend some money. Grabbies Media says 70% of gas customers fuel up and leave without ever setting foot inside gas station convenience stores. So gas stations have tried various methods to change that, by posting enticing advertisements by the pumps, or even pushing digital coupons to your phone.
But those ads and coupons are easily ignored. So Grabbies hopes to stand out, by providing something of value in exchange for your attention. And Grabbies says it works – the company says 83% of customers make an unplanned purchase if provided with coupons at the pump.
The company launched two years ago and has been working to build interest ever since. Now, it’s reached a deal to install its glove dispensers at five Denver-area Shell stations. And it’s partnered with major brands like Coca-Cola, Monster Energy and Jack Links to offer coupons for their products.
The pilot program will determine whether and where the company will expand its offerings, perhaps to a gas station near you. And not a moment too soon, Grabbies Media believes. “Gas pumps are dirty. They house germs, bacteria, oil and carcinogens,” Perello said. “Our hope is that consumers realize the importance, and ease, of using a glove to pump gas.”
And if it saves you some money on snacks in the process – even better.
Image source: Grabbies
Love this idea of a free glove with coupon at the gas pump! Well done Grabbies!