Survival Strategies for Gasoline Station Owners
The US economy, according to many, is on the brink of recession, statistics have revealed. It is hurting both the average consumer and businesses alike on multiple fronts. One of the business segments that tends to hurt the most when things start going south are the thousands of gasoline station owners across the country for whom riding the tide can be an insurmountable challenge.
From having to install expensive EV chargers in order to remain competitive to managing fluctuating fuel prices, their woes are manifold. To top it all off, the US economy continues to experience serious labor shortages.
Are you a gas station owner? If yes, here are possible solutions to two of your most pressing issues:
Ever-increasing fuel prices
The average price for unleaded regular gasoline nowadays falls in the range of $3.5-5 and continues to fluctuate. And the trend, according to analysts, will remain the same for a while the Ukraine crisis not withstanding.
As a fuel retailer, you have to ensure that the fluctuation has minimal impact on your customers. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot you can do about gasoline price fluctuations. However, your convenience store attached to your fuel station can work wonders and miracles if you do it right.
Increased convenience store sales will assist you in your efforts to sustain your cash flow. Pay more attention to your convenience store inventory . Introducing new products, aggressively looking from more competitive pricing from your vendors and distributors, and most importantly, improving the quality of your customer service, will definitely help. You may even install EV charging centers to increase revenues.
Credit card fraud
The instances of credit card fraud are on the rise. However, today, no credit card issuer protects gas stations that are not EMV-compliant. Upgrading pumps to comply with this requirement is going to cost you dearly. You can definitely go for retrofit EMV technology solutions. This approach is certainly more affordable when compared to completely renovating a pump. Getting a new pump, however, is the smart option. This may appear expensive. It will save you thousands of dollars in the long run in the form of safer credit card transactions.
Do you have any ideas about monetizing your gasoline station investment during hard times? Share them with us in the comment section below and do follow Premier Petroleum on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Read Also: HOW TO PREVENT FUEL AND GASOLINE FROM GOING BAD? | HOW LONG CAN GASOLINE BE STORED?
