Generally, when you’re running an app-based loyalty programme, signups come thick and fast — if you are targeting a general market. Castrol FastScan isn’t quite on that level, narrowing its focus to a very specific industry. As such, it has grabbed 1,440 members in six months.

That’s awful if you’re, say, Pick n Pay, but if your target market is South African mechanics, that’s… not bad. There are far more shoppers than there are folks who’ll fix your car for money. And Castrol wants those folks to buy more of its products.

Fuelling FastScan

That’s all a typical loyalty programme is, with an added side of data harvesting as a reward for some fake internet points and the occasional discount. People are cheaply bought in that manner. That’s more or less what FastScan users can expect for buying and scanning their Castrol purchases into the app via a QR code. The company isn’t silly, though — a secondary code exists on the product. Enterprising scammers can’t just waltz through Midas, scanning everything on the shelves.

Once the points accumulate to a preset amount, members can redeem their purchases for one of several items, discounts, or vouchers. These are generated and immediately sent to the user’s phone upon redemption. Rewards include household items, including groceries, but also encompass tools, tech, and other products that would come in handy in a workshop.

Castrol FastScan might seem like an odd endeavour — limited market and limited products to generate rewards but it only remains strange until you realise just how much petroleum-based product the average mechanic — whether it’s a service centre or small workshop — goes through in a year.

Currently, Castrol’s GTX, Magnatec, Vectron, CRB, and Transmax products are eligible for redemption via the programme, but the company expects to add other lines soon. The app is currently available for oil-stained Android and iOS devices.