Forecourt shopper habits
A recent study has shown that, due to the change in retail habits brought on by the pandemic, fewer than one-in-ten forecourt shoppers now cite fuel as the main reason for their visit.
As a proud supporter of independent retailers and forecourt owners, we were very interested to read this latest article from forecourttrader.co.uk.
According to the Forecourt Market Report 2021 from Lumina Intelligence UK, the key missions driving consumers to their local forecourt retailers has changed dramatically. Now, over a quarter (26%) of customers are visiting forecourt retailers for a planned top-up of goods, which shows a strong change in how the wider public are viewing their local convenience outlets as more and more essential to daily life.
As government advice around the pandemic has evolved, one message has remained unchanged – stay local. Trips to out-of-town or heavy traffic supermarkets were discouraged, and people were advised to stay as close to home, and away from gathering places, as possible. So, naturally, many residents have looked at their own local areas, and realised the convenience of the small, often overlooked retail establishments, such as newsagents, garage forecourts, and corner shops. This change that has come as a welcome relief to many of these underappreciated establishments, especially as the travel restrictions have had a huge negative impact on fuel sales across the country.
Alice Dolling, insight lead at Lumina Intelligence, said of the report: “Strict restrictions on movement and travel over the last year have severely impacted the forecourt sector and forced operators and retailers to adapt in order to generate sales and footfall. With fuel sales down, a forecourt’s convenience store offering has never been more important.”
The report drilled down further, to reveal that of these planned top-up visits, the most popular purchase categories were for bakery items (44%), chilled foods (excluding milk, 44%), fresh fruit and vegetables (35%), and packaged and tinned groceries (32%). This sort of illuminating report is highly informative for our retail clients, and gives them a strong steer for what they should be stocking, and for whom. Visits for food-to-go, such as meal deals, packaged sandwiches and bottled drinks, was driving just 16% of transactions, and newsagent sales were accounting for 11% of visits. Distress top-ups, surprisingly, were responsible for just 9% of customer visits, showing that customers are now seeing our independent retailers and forecourt outlets as more than just emergency conveniences, a trend we hope continues long after the coronavirus restrictions abate.
You can read more about the findings of the report below…