Changing the setting of fuel stations today

If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind.

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.

While e-commerce, BOPIS/Curbside, and contactless buying experiences are not new, the global pandemic shifted the way consumers shop and accelerated the roll-out of contactless technologies and delivery models. Innovations emerged out of necessity during the pandemic, but many are now here to stay.

Taking advantage of these consumer trends to create business development opportunities will require investing in digital technologies and expanding services beyond fuel.

Fuel retailers are redefining their businesses: small sites are converting to multi-energy stations, and the larger sites are transforming into complete service hubs.

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, which is substantially longer than refueling. These added services increase the station’s AVT (average transaction) with each customer, effectively boosting revenue streams while providing an improved consumer experience.

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

This abrupt shift in consumer behavior also impacted the supply chain and forced retailers to rethink their fulfillment models, streamline their assortment and rethink their supplier network to meet consumer demand. Adaptability requires more accurate forecasts and an agile management style.

To achieve these goals, retailers need real-time visibility and analysis to meet supply chain requirements, consumer demand and in turn, to improve profitability.

Next-Gen technological solutions are imperative for fuel retailers to tackle the long list of challenges they are faced with.

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

Being able to consolidate the volumes of data generated by fuel retail applications and more importantly, to utilize the analytical value of that data is crucial to all business operations.

Key trends and technologies paving the way into future

Mobility Hubs

This new trend comprises of a network of structures which combine a full suite of complementary transport modes allowing people to switch easily between one mode and another. The primary objective of Mobility Hubs will be to accommodate different journey types and allow us to sustainably move around our towns and cities. Different operators collaborate to offer services such as integrated information, payment platforms and passenger facilities.

Future Mobility Hubs will form a mobility network within our towns and cities, spawning from urban centers, connecting suburbs, and reaching into urban fringes and rural areas, as a result, they will need to be flexible to meet changing requirements and contexts.

IoT

Connecting the dots and utilizing existing IoT technologies, gas stations can drastically improve their overall service and drive customer satisfaction. The road that leads to this new age of customer experience requires an automation overhaul for the retail operators, which includes the adoption of AI and IoT innovation. This is especially true in the vertical market of petrol retail stations, where a transformation of the auto industry is moving away from petrol and toward a new paradigm of electric-powered cars.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Only advanced data analytics can underpin customer behavior insights, targeted efforts, and friction-free interactions. AI and ML powered solutions are the most effective way to extract valuable, revenue-generating data. Artificial intelligence used on recorded videos can bring insights. They can be programmed to read license plates or even recognize faces – which takes business operations to a proactive level, rather than reactive marketing.

Retail video analytics

Data that can be captured with video analytics include – customer movement or flow, customer engagement with products and shelves, the effectiveness of the store layout, and the impact of online promotions on foot traffic.

Autonomous stores

Many large retailers in the U.S., India, China and across Europe are already implementing cashierless stores. A multitude of technologies are involved in establishing an autonomous store. Computer vision, artificial intelligence-enabled cameras, RFID strips, infrared lead sensors, and mobile apps work together to offer the “Just Walk Out” convenience.

Mobile loyalty apps

Adding the mobility aspect to loyalty, means being able to send real-time, personalized promotions and information directly to customers’ smartphones based on location and tracking customer in-store behavior and movement. Engaged customers buy 90% more frequently and spend 60% more per transaction.

Omnichannel purchases

Consumers make multi-touchpoint purchases that start at home or in the office (e-commerce) 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.

Social media

Retailers are also leveraging social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to reach out directly to their target audience and build relationships with them.

Frictionless payment/Mobile wallets

As the technology behind frictionless payments continues to develop, we can expect to see improved customer experiences, bring more conversions, trouble-free checkout experiences and better business results.

Cloud-based solutions

Legacy POS systems no longer support today’s business requirements which include security, e-commerce, a range of payment options, and real-time data and analysis. Customers expect a seamless experience regardless of the device or communication channel.

Join the Digital Journey with Gilbarco Veeder-Root’s Passport X End-to-End Retail Platform

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.

Passport X enables a unified and personalized customer journey across multiple channels, alongside a wide range of payment opportunities, e-commerce, and loyalty program support.

>> Passport X. Paving the way to the future