As the ‘summer’ months arrive in the UK, the air is littered with opportunity. The impact on stations can vary heavily.
Some stations are well positioned to take advantage of the change in consumer habits we see in the summer. Others that rely on transient and commuter traffic can struggle in the wake of reduced volumes.
But one thing is true for most stations. Your customer- or at least their habits- changes. Of course, one of those habits is going on holiday. There is simply less volume in the market.
As an example, we took a section of over 500 petrol stations in the UK and Irish markets across multiple brands and locations and looked at what happens on the weekends. Low and behold, the average site takes over 20% less on Saturdays in Jul-Aug than in May-Jun!
So whether your station is lucky enough to benefit from a summer boost or is a straggler like the majority of stations, you need to make sure you are doing everything you can to maximise those volumes.
So, what are the options?
Get healthy!
This doesn’t mean you need to start a diet. Rather you need to service the customer’s eating habits, and people eat healthier in the summer. A study conducted by Mintel found that 53% of UK consumers want more healthy food options when eating out.
People tend to eat less in the heat. Having smaller, more digestible foods available, particularly around lunch time could give you a great high-margin product to sell. If you want maximum margins, make your own salads!
Embrace partnerships
We don’t mean Greggs or Subway here. If you have space on or nearby your site, you could invite a local ice cream van to set up on site. They might not share their profits with you, but you’ll grow that footfall and increase volumes and in-store sales whilst kids ruin their parents’ car upholstery dripping ice cream all over the place.
You can also partner with local community events and encourage them at your stores. In the summer, attendance to these sorts of things are higher. Could you offer 1ppl of sales to a local charity on a certain day and advertise this via your social media channels? Could be a small outlay to see a huge rise in footfall.
Keep the loos clean!
If a consumer is travelling and doing so for long periods, especially with kids, having clean and comfortable facilities is going to be a big factor in where people stop. According to a survey conducted by the Energy Institute, 65% of motorists consider the cleanliness and comfort of stations when deciding where to stop.
These are prime customers too – because they are intending on spending more time at your station than someone just filling up.
If you are already in a summer location, you may get repeat visits from the same consumers during their trip. If you are not, you can risk being passed over by non-regulars even if you have great facilities. If you keep it clean (and don’t mind people stopping to use the loo), then you need to make it as clear as possible with signage. Update your Google profile to make it clear you offer this environment.
On that note, leverage your socials!
In 2024, if you don’t have social media for your site, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. The summer is a great time to start, because people are travelling and looking at the areas they will be visiting.
You don’t have to go all out, but here is an example of one retailer who used social to grow their volumes by a whopping 100%.
Some other quick tips!
- Ensure your store is well-stocked with essential items for summer activities, such as sunscreen, insect repellent, hay-fever tablets and picnic supplies.
- Offer ice – you can even make your own. It’s a high margin item that people seek in the summer!
- Make sure your fridge temperatures are nice and cold. It might cost a bit extra, but a frosted cold water looks incredibly appealing on a hot summer day and this could influence.
- Crank up the air con. Also less appealing these days with the increase in energy costs, but a nice cool environment will slow people down and make them more likely to browse your shops.
- Stock up with coal and meat for BBQ weather. Sounds obvious, but I’ve personally been to many stations in desperate need of sausages and firestarters only to have to go to the next site because they didn’t stock them.
- Make sure your google profile is up to date and encourage reviews from regulars. This will get non-regulars to your sites during the summer lull.
