Tuesday, June 23, 2009
With gas getting more and more expensive these days, it's no wonder people drive less. But, don't c-store's make oodles and gobs off that pricey petrol? Well, if the cost breakdown that I've seen on stickers at the pump is correct, the retailer's share is slim-to-none. In fact, their are bigger problems for a c-store's bottom line than just their small share of fuel sales. When people buy less gas, they buy less inside, as well.

It should come as no surprise to many in the retail industry that fuel pumps aren't the business, they're just the bait. If you have a captive audience for even 60-seconds during a fill-up while kids in the back scream for a pop and the slushy poster is right outside their window... you can guess who typically wins this battle. The lifeblood of a convenience store is in food sales, not gas.

So what happens when people buy less gas? According to the Research and Markets Convenience Stores US 2009 report, sales have been trailing off since 2006. Why? Some possible causes include not only reduced gas consumption, but also shorter trips, less cross-country drives, which ultimately lead to fewer pit stops with a van-load of cabin-fever kids.

Stores today have to find more ways to make food service a strategic differentiator. Successful stores in our area have begun to create an atmosphere and experience that defies the typical gas-n-go we're all used to. Free wi-fi, higher-quality food, eat-in areas... all this amounts to one thing: changing the bait. When gas no longer brings them in, something has to. Convenience stores today have to become convenient for more than just drivers.

Labels: Convenience Stores, Economy, Wi-Fi

posted by Unknown at 6:08 AM Link to this Article

Comments:

guest blogger invitation

Hello,

This is Rose writing from www.huliq.com. I visited your blog and liked your content.

Would you be interested to send us a guest post on any of the issues related to the topics that you cover in your blog. We will publish it in our site www.huliq.com

In return with each guest blog we will give one link in the author's byline back to your blog. We only ask that the guest post ( we prefer it be a news coverage, sources can be Google News, CNN, MSNBC, Yahoo News, BBC and others) be a unique story and not be published in your blog.

HULIQ is indexed by Google News and Google requires that the length of the unique news is at least 5 paragraphs. We desire it to be at least 6 paragraphs if possible. And that all need to be a unique content. Once you send us a new story totally unique we will immediately publish it with you link in it, and within 15 minutes it should be indexed by Google News.

Also, please structure author byline as follows:

author's name:
author's e-mail:
author's blog url:

Please let me know if you may have any questions about www.huliq.com.

If you want to consult the topic with me first that's perfectly fine as well.

Many thanks
ruzik.mail@gmail.com
posted by  Unknown : June 27, 2009 at 10:00 AM