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New Australian fuel app promises to be a game-changer for industry and motorists

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A new Australian-first app called EzySt has been launched, promising to deliver cheaper than retail petrol prices for motorists, and an innovative open digital marketplace for the local petrol-convenience industry. 

EzySt differs from existing fuel pricing apps and schemes: it delivers special prices from multiple retailers straight to the user’s mobile phone (cheaper than advertised prices), doesn’t rely on crowd-sourced information, and is free to download and use. For retailers, EzySt allows personalised offers which help develop a direct relationship with customers.

The EzySt app has been several years in the making and is the brainchild of Sydney-based company The Pricing Project – which is led by former Caltex executives Mick Jarvie and Ben Everitt, and technologist Damian Funnell. The Pricing Project is the company behind other fuel industry software such as PriceScape and PriceSync. 

“We’re very excited by the potential of EzySt,” said EzySt Co-Founder Mick Jarvie. “We’ve created a new and cost-effective way for fuel retailers to communicate their deals to the public. This is going to empower local motorists to save not just on their weekly petrol bill, but on convenience items as well.” 

How exactly does EzySt work?

EzySt uses proprietary technology to source real-time price data from local fuel retailers and Government reporting schemes. Participating retailers include the EG Group (Caltex / Woolworths), independents Puma Energy, Pacific Petroleum, New Sunrise, and several dealers operating under nationally recognised brands. 

Importantly, the arrival of EzySt has been given the thumbs-up by motoring groups and ACAPMA (Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association) nationally. 

“In recent years, there has been a quiet revolution within the service station industry as retailers change their businesses from simply being a place to buy fuel to being a convenient ‘one-stop shop’ for consumers,” said Mark McKenzie, CEO of ACAPMA. “Unfortunately, consumer recognition of these industry-wide changes has been relatively slow with many believing that service stations are just a place to buy fuel. Technology like EzySt provides a method for service stations to dramatically increase consumer awareness by speaking directly with them before they choose to pull into a service station.” 

EzySt has just completed a successful pilot in Western Australia, where its take-up exceeded expectations and confirmed to the EzySt team that they were on to a winner. Next markets for expansion are Queensland and NSW, then all states and territories nationally. 

With EzySt, motorists can save around 30c per litre – but as the app grows in popularity, EzySt expects to see quite different pricing options resulting in larger savings for those who seek them. 

The team behind EzySt believe the app represents a rare ‘win-win’ for consumers and retailers in a market that is becoming increasingly challenging.

“We’ve worked hard to ensure that almost any form of fuel or convenience deal can be published in EzySt, and set to be displayed at given times of the day (eg. Peak hour) or made available over multi-day periods,” said Mick Jarvie. 

EzySt features maps with local fuel price information, and allows motorists to plan their route based on most appropriate fuel and convenience deals. Users can also save their fuel grade, set deal and retail brand preferences, and more. EzySt is now available through the App Store and Google Play.