Speedway, Costco, Thorntons and Buc-ee’s are foot traffic leaders in respective segments,according to GasBuddy’s Q1 2019 Foot Traffic Report
BOSTON — GasBuddy, the only smartphone app connecting drivers with the Perfect Pit Stop, today released its quarterly study examining foot traffic in the $654 billion fuel and convenience retailing industry across the United States. This analysis examined more than 20.3 million consumer visits between January 1 - March 31, 2019.
The report separates fuel and convenience brands into four segments based on their number of locations. Brands who received the highest average foot traffic per station in their respective categories include Ohio-based Speedway (1000+ locations), Washington-based Costco (250 – 999 locations), Kentucky-based Thorntons (50 – 249 locations) and Texas-based Buc-ee’s (30 – 49 locations).
“More than half of consumer visits to the pumps in Q1 lasted longer than five minutes, suggesting that they’re just as interested in filling up on in-store items as they are on gas,” says Frank Beard, convenience store and retail trends analyst at GasBuddy. “However, the fact that many consumers prefer to fill up at supermarkets with fuel programs rather than gas stations should be a call-to-action for fuel and convenience brands to rethink their offers before stores with produce sections eat their lunch.”
Key study highlights include:
More Americans Moving Beyond the Pumps and Into the Stores
Americans are spending more time at gas stations, venturing into the convenience store and purchasing items including fresh food, beverages and consumer packaged goods. More than half (55%) of consumer visits to fuel and convenience retailers lasted for longer than five minutes during Q1. This exceeds the average two to three minutes it takes to refuel a vehicle and reflects the industry’s emphasis on quality in-store offers, as well as reaffirming the findings in GasBuddy's Foodservice and Consumer Habits Survey, revealing that 60% of consumers purchase food and beverages at convenience stores.
Costco Claims the Top Spot
Washington-based Costco (250 - 999 locations) captured the highest footfall per station of any brand in any segment—more than four-and-a-half times the industry average. Other segment winners include Ohio-based Speedway (1,000+ locations), Kentucky-based Thorntons (50 - 249 locations), and Texas-based Buc-ee’s (30 - 49 locations).
Supermarkets are Super Busy
Supermarkets with fuel programs are popular destinations for filling up, representing four out of the top ten brands in two segments: 50 - 249 locations and 250 - 999 locations.
Fridays are the Busiest for Fueling
Friday was the busiest day for fuel and convenience retailers in Q1, followed by Saturday (2) and Thursday (3). The four busiest times also took place on Friday—5:00pm, 4:00pm, 12:00pm, and 3:00pm—followed by Saturday at 12:00pm in fifth place.
Kroger Wins the Most States
Ohio-based Kroger captured the highest average footfall in six states—the most of any fuel or convenience retailer. Wawa came in a close second with five states, and Cumberland Farms and Costco tied with four wins each.
Well-Lit Stations Drive Visits
Today’s customers have many choices, and they prefer to refuel at stations that are well-lit in the evenings and early morning. During Q1, stations with above-average outdoor lighting ratings drove 25.9% more visits than their below average competitors.
Methodology
From January 1 to March 31, 2019, GasBuddy and Cuebiq analyzed aggregated, anonymized location visit data at more than 100 fuel and convenience store brands across the U.S. to understand foot traffic trends, provide geo-behavioral and consumer insights, and identify the impact of key factors such as ratings and reviews on POI visits. To be considered a “visit,” a user must be within 30 meters of a fuel pump for between 2 and 30 minutes.
About GasBuddy
GasBuddy is a company that connects drivers with their Perfect Pit Stop. As the leading source for crowdsourced, real-time fuel prices at more than 150,000 gas station convenience stores in the U.S., Canada and Australia, millions of drivers use the GasBuddy app and website every day to find gas station convenience stores based on fuel prices, location and ratings/reviews. GasBuddy’s first-of-its-kind fuel savings program, Pay with GasBuddy, has saved Americans more than $6 million at the pumps since its launch in 2017. The company’s business solutions suite, GasBuddy Business Pages, provides Fuel Marketers and Retailers their best opportunity to maintain their station information, manage their brand, and promote to their target consumer audience. For more information, visit https://www.gasbuddy.com.