With gas reward cards from three area grocers in her wallet, Coneath Eldemire was focused on saving money last week as she stood at the Shop 'n Save gas pumps on Route 8 in Shaler. The Penn Hills resident didn't feel as if she was getting ahead, but she sure was trying.

"It's the trickle-down effect of everything on consumers," she said. "We can't get a break right now."

After months upon months of high gas prices, consumers are starting to shift how they choose where to fill up their tanks and how they use their cars, said David Portalatin, an analyst with research firm NPD Group. The effects of those changing priorities are altering the Pittsburgh market and others around the country.

NPD's research indicates that O'Hara grocer Giant Eagle's program linking purchases at its stores with gas discounts at its GetGo convenience stores has been powerful enough to propel the grocer into a virtual tie for third place in the Pittsburgh market with longtime gas purveyor Sheetz, based in Altoona.

"We see the majority of their consumers saying the reason they chose GetGo was because of their gas reward program," said Mr. Portalatin. NPD's Motor Fuels Index draws its data from monthly interviews with about 200,000 customers over the course of a year.

That's interesting because for years consumers always listed two major factors in their choice of where to buy gas -- location and price. Now, they want something extra to help ease the pain, he said.

In some cases, that may be high-performance fuels and extra services. But many clearly are responding to programs that give them the sense that they're leveraging money spent on food or even hardware items to cut their gas costs.

Typically, participants earn money off their gas purchases depending on how much they spend at the stores. A swipe of a loyalty card at the pump shows them how much they can take off during that fill-up.

The 5-year-old GetGo program helped spur other area grocers into the gas business, and the trend eventually could spread to other types of retailers looking for ways to link their services to consumers' gas tanks.

A McKnight Road company working with Foodland independent grocers to give grocery perks is looking at bringing other small businesses into the network. If a local dry cleaner can offer gas discounts along with clean shirts, people might find more reasons to stop there.

"We really offer an independent loyalty program," said Milo Ritton, owner of Superior Petroleum Co., which is converting stations to create a Fueland network.

Not long ago, the small Friedman's supermarket group out of Butler County began offering its customers rewards through the program.

"We reacted to Giant Eagle," Mr. Ritton said. "But we're now going to the next level."

Traditional gasoline sellers Sunoco and BP continue to claim the top two spots in the Pittsburgh-area market, according to NPD, yet even those now have links to grocery gas programs.

About 100 Sunoco stations are involved with the rewards offered through many independent Shop 'n Save grocery stores, up from 70 or so stations when the program launched a couple of years ago, said Rebekah Fawcett, manager of supply chain communications for SuperValu Inc., which supplies groceries to the stores.

BP is one of several brands of gas carried at the 33 stations linked to the Fueland network. Another 14 stations are in the process of being converted, said Mr. Ritton.

About 20 percent of the region's gas now is purchased through nontraditional venues, according to NPD numbers. GetGo accounts for the largest portion of those sales, but the category also includes retailers such as Wal-Mart and Costco.

"You're going to see similar kinds of efforts being rolled out across a lot of different retailers," said Mr. Portalatin.

Both Shop 'n Save and Foodland are reportedly doing well with customers who want gas rewards with their Wheaties and bananas.

Sunoco operator Hugh J. Campbell estimated between one-third and one-half of the business he's getting at a new station in Monroeville near a Shop 'n Save comes from people redeeming their Pump Perks. "Anything that you can do helps you compete," he said.

Location hasn't completely slipped off the chart for consumers choosing where to fill their tanks. Mr. Campbell noted a gas station that he has in North Huntingdon isn't near any Shop 'n Save stores and he doesn't get very many customers there from the gas reward program.

To answer such programs, traditional gas companies need to emphasize points of differentiation that give consumers' reasons to slow down for more than the ever-changing numbers on the big signs, said Mr. Portalatin.

Some drivers may respond to the performance fuel pitch of a Shell or a made-to-order food offering from a competitor such as Sheetz.

More than a few chains offer rebates on gas through credit card purchases, although delayed gratification may not have quite the same impact as a customer being able to watch the digital price on the pump display drop by 10 cents or 20 cents a gallon, or even more.

"There's a very immediate reward that's very tangible," said Mr. Portalatin. "It's powerful motivation."

Some question how much consumers are actually saving on such programs. They argue grocers simply shift promotions around or even raise prices to cover the cost of the discounts.

Ms. Eldemire figured she'd really save money if she didn't spend as much on groceries, one of the many expenses that seem to be going up lately.

Still, interest in gas reward programs was strong even when prices were lower a few years ago, and there's been a steady rise in costs since then.

Shaler resident Andy Kubicsek, who was filling his tank at a GetGo in Hampton, noted that prices rarely seemed to shift in his favor. "It goes down 2 or 3 cents. Then it goes up a dime."

Mr. Portalatin said statistics indicated that consumers also were trying yet another cost-cutting tactic -- finding ways to drive less.

Still, it's difficult to stop buying gas altogether. "They know we're going to use it. We need it," said Ms. Eldemire. "We can't say 'no.' "