New Kid on the Block Starts Price War
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. -- Without wasting any time, a Rutter's store that was opened less than a week ago has made its introduction to other local gasoline retailers by dropping its gas prices to $2.38 per gallon, creating a new front for the gas war being waged in the area, the Sentinel Reporter reported.
When the station listed the price at the new low on Saturday, area retailers such as Sheetz, Turkey Hill, Giant and Sunoco quickly matched prices to attract more of the drivers that were drawing lines at the new stores 16 pumps.
By the beginning of the week, prices dropped again to $2.37 a gallon. The falling prices started last month when Turkey Hill opened and slashed prices to $2.63 and eventually left them hovering at $2.49, the newspaper reported. When Rutter's opened, it ignited the fire again by pricing fuel below that mark.
The Shippensburg area is an up-and-coming retail area with a nearby college and a Wal-Mart to draw traffic. Rutter's had chosen that area to set up shop because it was a prime location, Scott Hartman told CSNews Online when the store opened. "I don't expect a whole lot of competition [from Wal-Mart], it's down the street between the Hardee's, Wendy's, Sheetz and Turkey Hill. ... The Wal-Mart guys, they bring in the traffic, I see them as a positive rather than a negative," Hartman said.
Customers are enjoying the feud between retailers, while it lasts. "We're the lucky beneficiaries right now of new stores trying to establish a market share," said Rick Bushman of Path Valley, Pa. "Is it relief [from high prices]? No, but it is an oasis," he told the Sentinel Reporter.
When the station listed the price at the new low on Saturday, area retailers such as Sheetz, Turkey Hill, Giant and Sunoco quickly matched prices to attract more of the drivers that were drawing lines at the new stores 16 pumps.
By the beginning of the week, prices dropped again to $2.37 a gallon. The falling prices started last month when Turkey Hill opened and slashed prices to $2.63 and eventually left them hovering at $2.49, the newspaper reported. When Rutter's opened, it ignited the fire again by pricing fuel below that mark.
The Shippensburg area is an up-and-coming retail area with a nearby college and a Wal-Mart to draw traffic. Rutter's had chosen that area to set up shop because it was a prime location, Scott Hartman told CSNews Online when the store opened. "I don't expect a whole lot of competition [from Wal-Mart], it's down the street between the Hardee's, Wendy's, Sheetz and Turkey Hill. ... The Wal-Mart guys, they bring in the traffic, I see them as a positive rather than a negative," Hartman said.
Customers are enjoying the feud between retailers, while it lasts. "We're the lucky beneficiaries right now of new stores trying to establish a market share," said Rick Bushman of Path Valley, Pa. "Is it relief [from high prices]? No, but it is an oasis," he told the Sentinel Reporter.