The annual ACS Forecourt Report reveals the growing importance of petrol stations’ convenience store business, with 41% of shoppers arriving on foot or bike, a typical non-fuel spend of £11.83, and an average basket of three items.
The ACS says that of the UK’s 8,347 forecourt sites, 7,404 have shops, and that the majority are now established as convenience stores in their own right, with thousands of customers viewing these locations as their main local shop.
The top five categories include tobacco and vaping, soft drinks, beers, wines and spirits, non-food, and confectionery. Other interesting strong sellers in the top 10 include impulse biscuits and health, beauty, toiletries and baby.
Sites have also become important hubs for their neighbourhood, offering essential services, with 27% acting as a parcel collection point, 81% offering a bill payment service, and 18% offering click and collect for groceries.
Also forecourt operators are engaging with their local community through social media, with over 70% of forecourt operators having a Facebook presence, 38% being on Instagram, and 37% on X.
Some 84% have also run some sort of community support activity in the past year, with 60% raising money for charity, 45% donating to food banks, and 15% sponsoring local sports teams.
But success in the convenience market comes at a cost. Some 13% of forecourt retailers are failing to take any holidays throughout the year, and 2% work more than 70 hours a week.
Operators are also spending a greater amount on future-proofing with an investment of £18,961 per store over the past year, compared to £12,000 the year before.
Of those investing on their outlets 30% updated refrigeration, 24% technology and 23% shelving. Some 15% invested in crime prevention, and some 16% now have self-service checkouts.
On the forecourt, 9% had invested in parking provision over the past year. And some 17% of UK forecourts now have pay at pump facilities, 50% have car washing – with 75% of that figure having jet washes – and 6% provide EV charging points.
Other key findings from this year’s Forecourt Report include:
- · The UK forecourt sector creates over 89,000 jobs, with one in four colleagues (26%) being in the business for more than 10 years
- · The value of sales in the forecourt sector has reached £5bn in the last year (excluding fuel)
- · Some 65% of staff working in forecourts are female
- · Most customers on a forecourt remain men at 56%
- · 57% of forecourts have a store website, and 46% have store wifi
- Petrol forecourts were ranked as the fifth most essential service on local high streets, behind banks and ahead of pubs/bars
- 17% of forecourt operators employ at least one family member
ACS chief executive James Lowman says that the latest findings demonstrate how essential the UK’s forecourts are to their local communities.
“Forecourt retailers have made significant investments in improving their offer to customers over the last year, spending money on futureproofing their stores through new technology and refrigeration, as well as into services like parcel collection points and click and collect for groceries.
“It’s also encouraging to see that more forecourt retailers are investing time and effort into community engagement. For tens of thousands of people, their main local shop also sells fuel, so being a community hub is just as important for forecourt retailers as it is for their standalone convenience counterparts.”
