Page 71 - CW-MAY-JUNE-2021 non-tob

which recently announced plans to increase the number of its EV charging points from 60,000 to 500,000 globally by 2025, fuel retailers need to invest early in the necessary infrastructure and take control of the opportunity. If they don’t, there are already oil and gas companies, utilities, and original equipment manufacturers ready to move at scale to capture a share of what will be a major shift in the market. Show me the money While a significant decline in fuel sales might appear to be devastating for fuel retailers, adding EV charging opens up a wide range of opportunities for them to expand their offering. Recharging takes far longer than refuelling, so customers expect far more from the provider. There needs to be a safe environment, quality food offering with sit-down dining, and other options in line with the location’s needs. These can include a kids’ play area, a place to sit and relax, a business collaboration area, dry-cleaning pick-up and collection, refrigerated supermarket lockers for collection of pre-ordered groceries, and quality restrooms – potentially including showers. Because of the time required for recharging, customers won’t treat recharge stops like the ‘splash and dash’ of refuelling, but as a scheduled stop. As such, they may arrange to have packages delivered, drop off their own packages, have their car washed, meet colleagues over a meal, or shop in the convenience store. For the operator, all these can attract revenue that isn’t now part of a typical fuel retailer’s mix. This is supported by McKinsey analysis showing forecourt retailers with EV charging can in future still achieve significant return on investment, particularly as consumer spend on EV charging is expected to rise from its current negligible value to $20 billion yearly by 2030. Operators willing to invest in EV charging infrastructure and upgrade their facilities to suit the needs of their customer demographic will be well placed to plug into this market. Pump up the volume Revenue generation has always been an important aspect of a fuel retailer’s strategy. The predicted decrease in fuel revenue due to increased (and far cheaper) EV charging means it’s going to be increasingly important to attract customers into your convenience store and other retail facilities. Australian company Adverto Global specialises in the development, manufacture and deployment of high- resolution, interactive display screens designed for service stations and their associated convenience stores. Its latest range offers high-resolution, ultra-bright screens, and quality sound, designed to give fuel retailers a wide range of options for influencing customers at the pump or EV charging point. Adverto Executive Chair Vernon Brickman tells us people are often in a hurry when refuelling, evidenced by data showing the average time spent refuelling in Australia is only around three minutes. “If a customer is in a hurry, by the time they’ve filled up with fuel and then perhaps queued to pay, I can almost guarantee they won’t be willing to wait for a coffee to be made,” he said. “On the other hand, if there’s an interactive touch screen display that lets them order from a range of good coffees, pastries or other items while they’re standing at the pump, they’ll happily do so, knowing it’ll be ready for them when they come in to pay. “So, it’s good for the customers who are a little bit time sensitive, but it can also let other customers know what specials or facilities are available inside, which also often leads to impulse purchases.” With the gradual migration to EV charging, the messaging that will be attractive to forecourt customers will also change. Those who are charging EVs won’t be expecting just a three-minute stop and typically will walk away while charging takes place. The videos running on the EV units can be more about presenting the facilities inside, potentially showing the availability of the meeting rooms customers can reserve using the touch screen, or alternatively showing food menus and other facilities of interest. Now I see you Mr Brickman tells us the units each have two cameras, with one providing a CCTV feed to the fuel desk, and the other used for analytics. “By counting how many times people look at the screen, measuring how long they look at it, and understanding what it is they’re looking at, we can monitor the effectiveness of each ad, and optimise the whole process,” he said. “The cameras have shown us the units have about 11 times more viewing time compared with a static display, which is a huge benefit.” Adverto Global has also found there are other benefits to having cameras. “Recently, one of our customers told us that in the three months since Adverto units were installed, he’s had zero fuel thefts from the pumps with the units attached,” Mr Brickman said. “Our entry level unit model is also high resolution and designed for viewing in the brightest sunlight, but has no touch screen. It’s mounted in a prominent position, so it's visible when people are refuelling. Having no touch screen, its purpose is to play ads, both for revenue, such as an ad for a local restaurant or plumber, and also to inform and attract customers to your own convenience store specials or any other services you want to make known. “Store owners typically have a loop of their own products running, based on where they want to generate interest. They also have some local ads on the loop, so you can have both. You can also make the total video loop longer or shorter depending on your needs. “What today’s service station owners are doing is putting in probably three or four ads of the internal products they want to push to their customers, and they’re also putting in probably five or six external ads to generate advertising revenue from their local businesses. “As things develop in the future, content can be entirely customised based on the type of customers visiting your facility.” The eye of the storm Having emerged from the storm that was 2020, it would be easy for fuel retailers to relax and enjoy the recent rebound, but it would be a mistake to do so. The first part of the storm may have passed, but it’s important to look ahead and recognise the industry is now facing an electric storm. Those that invest in EV infrastructure and facilities can enjoy a share of the emerging EV market, but to do so, they must expand beyond their current offering and create a new business model that appeals to a different customer with different needs at the forecourt. Multiple players are keen to take up a position at the EV table. The winners will be those that lead the charge. FUEL & FORECOURT MAY/JUN, 2021 CONVENIENCE WORLD 69