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Trends getting fuel retailers on their digital journey

In today’s always-on business world, trends never stop evolving and the markets never stop changing. There is no such thing as standing still; if you’re not moving forward, you’ll fall behind. It is crucial for fuel station and network owners to stay ahead of the market, ahead of competition, and on top of new consumer and technology trends to make the most of their retail opportunities.

Digital Adoption to Suit Today’s Consumer

COVID-19 impacted the world of retail fuel stations just as much as every other corner of the retail universe, provoking new customer expectations, accelerating digital transformation, and speeding up the adoption of new technology. While tech adoption increased, customer expectations have changed to adapt to COVID-19’s impact on society. Consumers have grown accustomed to online services for all aspects of their lives, ranging from shopping to banking and health services, and it is expected that there will be a rise of up to 40% in consumer intent to use digital channels over the long term.

Welcoming New Revenue Streams

Retailers offer seamless refueling that reduces delay; attendants authorize pumps remotely from across the aisle; and fuel station owners and executives supervise every aspect of the forecourt remotely for maximum efficiency.

As electric vehicle (EV) use rises, fuel stations with charging points expand into additional hospitality services to provide EV owners a pleasant way to spend their time while they await their car charge. These added services increase the station’s AVT (average transaction) with each customer, effectively boosting revenue streams while providing an improved consumer experience.

Consumers make multi-touchpoint purchases that start at home or in the office and continue to both the c-store and forecourt, allowing a frictionless experience, switching seamlessly between online/offline with data cross-referenced between the two.

C-stores become a focal point to pick up fast food orders, retrieving packages, and fuel station cafes become a place for business meetings.

All of these are welcome developments for fuel station owners who are concerned about dwindling profits from traditional fuel purchases.

Increased Sales from Non-Fuel Retail

According to McKinsey, 66% of retail station margins in developed markets are coming from non-fuel retail and this percentage is expected to grow, which will help retailers become more resilient to margin decline. Savvy managers have understood this and are investing in retail expansion and experimenting with associated services that attract a larger customer base and keep their existing customer base, loyal and satisfied with their overall customer journey.

Legacy Solutions vs Cloud-Based Solutions

63% of fuel station owners say that legacy infrastructure restricted their ability to make rapid changes and delayed their digital transformation. Now there is a solution.

Passport X from Gilbarco Veeder-Root makes it possible to support all the newest features and trends. Passport X is an innovative, versatile, cloud-based multi-tenant platform that enables efficient management of your c-store and fuel station. It integrates front-end POS and mPOS capabilities combined with a powerful backend office that handles all your analytics and reporting needs. Offline redundancy is built in so that you can always stay open and in control. Superior levels of cyber protection keep all your customer data safe from hacking attacks.

Join the Digital Journey with our Future-Ready Solutions!

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