KSS Fuels Survey Highlights Key Industry Fuel Pricing Trends
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- KSS Fuels released the results of its multi-country survey regarding current fuel pricing practices and steps fuel retailers are taking to cope with the continued rise in competition for market share amid static or falling demand for motor fuels.
Feedback from executives at retail petroleum companies operating more than 11,000 sites in 14 countries revealed a significant shift in fuel retailers' attitude toward technology, and a growing desire to understand how the combination of improved processes and predictive analytics drive bottom-line results, according to KSS. Survey findings also showed a growing trend to move away from in-house developed pricing systems to commercially developed and maintained applications; 76 percent of survey participants stated they use third-party pricing applications, and 62 percent stated they chose a KSS Fuels application.
The top-ranked reasons for investing in fuel pricing technologies are:
- Opportunity to improve profit;
- More timely response to competitor price moves; and
- Ability to integrate with other systems to streamline the pricing process.
"This most recent survey indicates a significant shift in fuel retailers' attitudes toward advanced analytics and decision support, highlighting that today's market conditions and increasing competition are demanding a more sophisticated approach to fuels pricing," stated Bob Stein, president and CEO of KSS Fuels. "We're seeing an increasing number of fuel retailers moving away from in-house tools and spreadsheets to adopt dedicated commercial applications that are maintained and updated by business specialists like KSS Fuels."
Survey results also showed that of those investing in technology, 75 percent already use price optimization to support price decisions, and 68 percent stated their overwhelming goal is to grow margin while maintaining market share. Regarding ease of use, nearly 70 percent indicated that the application used is easy to manage and maintain, confirming that sophisticated analytics no longer require sophisticated skills, KSS stated.