Customer research reveals huge demand for clean hands on the forecourt
In a world where fuel offers low margins, forecourt convenience store sales can be the key to profitability. Increase sales here and business will boom. You’ve invested in merchandise, promotional materials, produce and new store layouts, all to help increase sales, yet it’s one of the simplest and cheapest investments that holds the key to boosting sales – the cleanliness of your customers’ hands.
It sounds odd, but if a customer has sticky, dirty and smelly hands as a result of filling up, they are less inclined to buy food and drinks in your shop. The unpalatable facts highlighted on the handle hygiene page help to explain the barrier to food and drink purchases following fuelling up. So, what can you do to overcome this? After all, you’ve got hand-protection on your forecourt, haven’t you? |
Gripping the fuel pump handle can be the first and last touch-point a customer has with a forecourt, and so it's key that this experience is hygienic. New research shows this to be more vital than ever.
Before we get to the results, we have three initial questions to consider:
Before we get to the results, we have three initial questions to consider:
1) Do customers decide to fill up at a particular forecourt based on price alone?
If there is more than one forecourt in the area, there are other factors involved; and hygiene is a big one. 2) If you have one forecourt which obviously doesn’t really care, and then another across the road with easy, unmissable and totally convenient hand-protection… where are your customers going to fill up? They're going to buy their snacks, coffee, lunch, household shopping for the next few days in the second convenience store because they offer something as simple as visibly caring and making sure their customers can easily keep their hands clean at the pumps. 3) If you have children in the back of the car asking for an ice cream and drink when you go in to pay for the fuel, how would you answer if you couldn't find hand-protection and you knew your hands were filthy? |
GripHero removes the barriers to follow-on purchases on higher-margin products in your convenience store. Otherwise, who would buy a sandwich with fuel, bacteria and viruses all over their hands? Well, let's find out...
In 2017, GripHero commissioned an independent survey of 1,000 drivers throughout the UK to understand their opinions on the use, availability and impact forecourt hand-protection has on their experience.
In 2017, GripHero commissioned an independent survey of 1,000 drivers throughout the UK to understand their opinions on the use, availability and impact forecourt hand-protection has on their experience.
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What should we read into this? This is a stark notice to forecourt retailing. This shows the huge public demand for clean hands at the pumps, and the potentially huge rewards for the retailers that commit to the well-being of motorists. While you’ve invested in making your forecourt sing and dance, it seems what the customer actually wants is a quick, clean and hassle free experience that doesn’t leave their hands sticky and stinking of fuel for hours; or risks their health by holding the most unhygienic surface for a few minutes. As long as the fuel price is competitive, there’s probably not much else a customer looks for. |