Visibility
How easy is it to see or find the charging point?
And can they find the charging point online?
With the number of EVs rising and fuel volumes declining, it’s clear that the future of fuel stations will look very different.
To stay profitable, fuel station owners need to rethink their strategies. By re-optimizing current sites with new services such as EV-chargers, food corners, convenience stores and car washes (while assessing the local potential for each of these services) it is possible to establish strong future-proof mobility hubs.
Thanks to the revolutionary data we have in our system and predictive models, we currently identified 3 big challenges for fuel station networks.
Challenge 1: Make the most of your existing sites' potential
With many stations located in prime, high-visibility areas, fuel stations have the opportunity to evolve into smart mobility hubs.
The key is finding the right mix of services for each location.
Click on the arrows next to the title to get more information:
Food corners
Is there enough potential from passage and local activity to get enough ROI? Or is there neighboring competition that would impact potential revenue?
EV charging
Is your location poised to become a future-ready site with low connection costs and high expected return on investment for chargers? And which types of chargers or how many chargers are optimal?
Car wash services
Is there enough potential from residents and passage and a lack of current car washes nearby? Then your site will be a true white spot for car washes.
Convenience vs. supermarket
Does your station need a quick-stop convenience store, an on-the-go concept, or even a full-service supermarket to serve the local community?
Will you soon be optimising your location strategy?
Follow in the footsteps of other companies like yours
Challenge 2: Optimize location based pricing strategy for fuel and EV charging
Is your station performing at its peak, or are there still untapped opportunities in your area that could be captured?
To ensure continued profitability, you need to adjust to changing market conditions.
This requires a detailed understanding of several factors:
-
Competitive pressure: The number of fuel stations nearby, their respective brand strength and their power output
-
Local price pressure: Current pricing strategy of the neighbouring competitors will impact both volume and pricing flexibility
-
Other location quality parameters: Station capacity, presence of valuable local services and accessibility can give you stronger local position compared to your competitors. This justifies higher prices
Extract from a previous case for ChargePlanner, where a potential price increase is tested.
Our regular fuel prices updates allow you to run sensitivity analyses on individual site pricing and continuously optimize your margins.
Challenge 3: Invest in new sites, without cannibalizing your current network
As the transition to electric vehicles accelerates, investing in EV charging infrastructure is becoming a top priority across Europe.
But randomly investing in nearby or existing locations, will often not be the right approach. You’ll get the most revenue if you place the right type of chargers and the optimal number of charging points at your locations that also show acceptable connection costs.
It’s important to assess the business case for each existing location with care. But don’t do it based on gut-feeling. Data and AI can help you out.
Below you can find 2 sites we identified with our application as a great location vs a bad location.
An example of a great location:
Gridserve site in Cheshire East, UK
With 6 UF charging points at >100 MWH/year per charging point, this site ranks in the top 1% of charging locations.
The excellent car passage (695K) and strong local activity make the presence on this site so strong.
An example of a bad location:
BP Pulse site in Craigavon, UK
With an annual usage of under 10 MWh, this site ranks among the lowest-performing 11% of sites in the UK.
Key factors like car passage (14K) and limited local activity accessibility reduce the viability of this site.
Other key drivers that influence the usage of your charging points
Accessibility
Can customers physically access the site?
Are there any obstructions or inconveniences?
Security
Is there camera surveillance and sufficient light?
Both contribute to a general feeling of safety.
Competition
What's the available power output and price position? How does your brand strength compare to surrounding competitors?
How RetailSonar will help your Fuel stations thrive
.png?width=33&height=54&name=Light%20bulb%20(small).png){kind=small}
Add the right local services
at each existing site
Explore the potential for the best service mix—fuel, EV charging, or other services—at every site in your portfolio with the highest possible accuracy.
Find the perfect pricing to
maximise your site potential
maximise your site potential
Use AI to optimize the pricing strategy for each individual site and ensure continued profitability, based on real-time competitor and behavioural data.
Identify new charging
hotspots with confidence
hotspots with confidence
With our tool, you can easily pinpoint the most profitable locations for EV chargers, helping you maximize future revenue and avoid costly investment mistakes
.png?width=200&height=200&name=Alain%20(bubble).png "Alain (bubble)")