Convenience and Cleanliness

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Customers Look for MORE than Cleanliness in their Roadtrip Oasis

The pressure is on. As consumers get stretched thinner and thinner, gas stations and convenience stores are evolving to help their harried customers do more in fewer trips. That means introducing newer services and different features to change how consumers think about their next trip to the station. But it doesn’t matter if your customers can pay with an app or you offer fancy coffee—a clean, inviting storefront will never go out of style.

New Reasons to Come Inside

Full service used to mean an attendant would wash your windows and check your fluids. Today, you can step up to a kiosk and copy your house or car keys or pay your utility bills – while fueling up. Consumers can visit an Amazon Locker or a USPS gopost to pick up their online purchases and ship packages. Drivers in West Virginia can even skip the DMV and renew their vehicle registrations at a kiosk that’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Hungry Customers Look for New Experiences

Food is one of the biggest areas of growth and differentiation. Convenience stores in the U.S. rang up record in-store sales in 2016 – more than $230 billion. Stores can no longer afford to get by with the bare minimum. Some locations are adding outdoor seating and free Wi-Fi. Healthier options are popping up next to the ice cream bars–nuts, fresh fruits, salad bars, and even specialized beverages that feature probiotics and protein. One trend even sees stores trading slushy machines for growlers and draft beer dispensers.

New Faces in Town

Retailers are also staring down international brands looking to elbow their way into an already crowded marketplace. Irish convenience store, Applegreen, known for “Low Fuel Prices, Always” and “Better Value Always” is looking to expand from its growing foothold on the East coast. COPEC, the fuel and convenience store giant from Santiago, Chile announced their arrival by buying the Mapco retail system. Mexico’s leading c-store chain, OXXO looks to add 900 units over the next 10 years, with a primary focus on Texas.

What Rings the Bell? Cleanliness or Gas Price

Store owners are finding themselves inside an increasingly competitive and rapidly evolving marketplace. Despite all that change, one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of maintaining a clean and welcoming store.

According to NACS research, over 35% of customers visit their station’s convenient store during a fuel up. These trips inside are vital to your profits. A store’s appearance is just as important as the snacks and refreshments they stock. 95% of shoppers told ISSA, The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association, that cleanliness influences their shopping decisions. Unclean restrooms, unpleasant odors, dirty floors, spills, stains, dirty shopping carts are just a few of the things that can turn off a customer.

“Shoppers want to feel comfortable when visiting a retail environment and ensuring that a store is clean and healthy is a crucial part,” says Dan Wagner, ISSA’s Director of Facility Service Programs.

Market Force Information® polled more than 10,000 consumers to find the Most Critical Factors in Deciding Where to Fuel. Twenty-six precent said appearance and maintenance was a key motivator in where they fuel up. More than 20% said in-store customer service was a main factor. Intangibles outside of price are all part of a store’s brand image and they’re clearly important to customers.

FLEETWASH CAN HELP

Daily life and routine business can easily have an effect on a gas station’s appearance. As customers come and go, dirt builds up on the outside pavement and interior floors. There could be stains and puddles from oil, gasoline and windshield wiper fluid. And then there’s chewing gum. Professionally cleaning a gas station is the best way to remove tough stains and grime and maintain a professional, welcoming appearance.

Gas station cleaning and convenience store cleaning shouldn’t be left to employees. FLEETWASH has been helping businesses look their best for your customers for close to 45 years. FLEETWASH Facility Services offers full store cleaning—everything the customer can see and even what they can’t. Everything from the sidewalks, windows, and exterior building, to HVAC units, kitchen hoods and bathrooms.

• FLEETWASH has national coverage and is NOT a franchise. FLEETWASH works when traffic is at its lightest so as not to disturb a station’s customers.

• FLEETWASH 24/7 service can be scheduled at dates, times and frequency that is right for the station - when traffic is at its lightest so as not to disturb a station’s customers.

• FLEETWASH Facility Services can clean everything inside and outside the gas station, including convenient stores, HVAC coils, and Kitchen Exhaust systems.

• FLEETWASH uses a patented water recovery system which isolates, captures, transports and eliminates all wastewater.

• FLEETWASH is committed to sustainable cleaning and ensure all work is done according to local, state, and federal regulation. Wash water is transported off site and eliminated properly. Getting you clean AND keeping you GREEN.

• FLEETWASH Maintains $15 Million Liability Insurance and $2 Million Pollution Insurance Policy

REQUEST A FREE QUOTE TODAY!

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SOURCES

1. http://www.nacsonline.com/Research/FactSheets/Pages/default.aspx

2. http://www.nacsonline.com/YourBusiness/FuelsCenter/Basics/Articles/Pages/How-Consumers-Behave-at-the-Pump.aspx

3. https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-look-at-the-gas-stations-of-tomorrow-1495203459

4. http://www.csnews.com/industry-news-and-trends/technology/dmv-kiosks-pull-west-virginia-sheetz-stores

5. http://www.cspdailynews.com/industry-news-analysis/corporate-news/articles/four-retailers-coming-america#page=0

6. http://www.cspdailynews.com/industry-news-analysis/corporate-news/articles/opinion-5-top-trends-convenience-retail-2017