What Retailers Can Do to Convert the Gas Shopper

ATLANTA — Seventy-four percent of convenience-store shoppers buy gas and never enter the store, according to a report from The Coca-Cola Co.

The beverage company gave some insights on how to change that at this year’s NACS Show in Atlanta through an infographic for retailers called From Pump to Purchase: Converting the Gas Shopper.

Increasing the number of customers who fill up for gas and purchase something in a store by 1% would add $72 million to the channel per month, according to the report.

Here's a look at what Atlanta-based Coca-Cola recommends retailers do to convert the “gas shopper” …

Customers filling up on gas aren’t going inside a c-store because they don’t feel the need to. Seventy-four percent said they didn’t enter the store because they didn’t need anything inside, according to the report.

Thirty-one percent of shoppers decide whether to enter the store while standing at the gas pump—and 47% of shoppers read signage at the pump while pumping gas, the company said.

Fuel discounts and promotions are the most motivating pump messages, the report said.  

Signage that motivates store purchases are ones promoting in-store purchases that offer a discount on that trip’s fuel purchase; ones about earning a discount to redeem later for a fuel purchase; and promotions for beverages, according to the report.

Customers are motivated to purchase store items by the store atmosphere and rewards, according to Coca-Cola.

Top purchase motivators include overall store appearance, rewards for food and drink purchases, and indoor restrooms.

According to Coca-Cola, 84% of gas shoppers like the idea of ordering drinks, snacks or other store items ahead of time or at the pump, and 60% of shoppers want a person to bring their items to them at the pump.

The report shows that 65% of shoppers would be interested in ordering nonalcohol beverages, 63% would be interested in ordering sweet snacks and 61% would be interested in ordering salty snacks.

Coca-Cola worked with MFour on its research and surveyed 1,282 c-store visitors at retailers across the country.

Those retailers were Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven, Atlanta-based RaceTrac and Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz, among others.