Value-Added Services & Fuel Price Optimization Among Tools to Increase Foot Traffic

ATLANTA — While inflation and post-COVID shopping behaviors have had an impact on foot traffic at convenience stores, customers still seek out good physical experiences while shopping at brick-and-mortar stores.

This and other insights come from PDI Technologies Inc. and its subsidiary GasBuddy in the latest report, Tracking Convenience Report: From the Pump to the C-Store, an analysis of key findings in the convenience retailing and fuel market. 

The report encompasses data from PDI and GasBuddy dating back to 2017 and analyzes overall footfall rates, in-store dwell time, fuel prices and other in-store trends from 2022. 

The deep assessment reflects on evolving consumer behaviors in the store and at the pump and provides key takeaways for retailers and consumer packaged goods brands, along with actionable opportunities to improve business results, such as tools to optimize fuel pricing. 

Key insights from the report also include: 

• An analysis of c-store trends throughout 2022 shows that sales growth in dollars was primarily driven by increases in average item price, with spending per basket up 3 percent but average units per basket down 3.9 percent. 
• Post-COVID, most shoppers spend less than five minutes in a c-store, creating opportunities for the industry to increase dwell time with evolved offerings like advanced foodservice, secure WiFi and more.   
• Shoppers still expect an excellent physical experience. For example, an above-average rating in outdoor lighting led to a 5.3 percent increase in foot traffic, while a below-average rating in the same category caused a proportionately higher decrease in traffic (8.5 percent). 

"As gas prices have remained volatile, our analysis shows that foot traffic has continued to stay consistent and even rise, with a dip and then readjustment of purchasing behaviors," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. "Convenience store owners can use this data to understand how the fuel market is overtly impacting their business, so they can make better decisions that maximize margins."  

The full report is available here. 

"Interestingly enough, it's a common assumption that almost everything about consumer behavior has changed in the past few years. Our findings reveal that foot traffic habits, including time of day at the pump and popular days of the week, have not shifted much since pre-pandemic," added Greg Crow,  vice president of Insights at PDI.   

PDI software is designed to help businesses and brands increase sales, operate more efficiently and securely, and improve critical decision-making. More than 1,500 companies, representing more than 200,000 locations worldwide, use PDI solutions.

GasBuddy is a fuel savings platform that provides North American drivers with ways to save money on gas. The GasBuddy app has been downloaded over 100 million times and provides real-time gas price information at more than 150,000 stations.