The Who, What, and When of Buying Gas

I came across an interesting article from NACS the other day entitled the 8 Habits of Gas-Buying Customers.  While some of them were pretty obvious there were others that surprised me.  Which of these habits are yours as well?

1. Consumers typically buy gas when they’re running low. 58% of drivers buy gas when they see that gauge dipping down.  Especially if they are close to a gas station at that time.
2. Mid-day is the most popular time to fill up.  In our business we know how busy our customers are during the morning and evening rush hours so this one surprised me.  But it’s close……37% prefer mid-day and 33% prefer late afternoon.  It’s also interesting to note that women and seniors (and I’m not talking about the hot-rodding 18 year old’s in High School) are far more likely to fill up mid-day…..which makes a lot of sense to me.
3. The price of gas is the overwhelming reason for customers to pick a gas station. Duh!
4. Consumers largely rely on the gas price sign. 63% of consumers look for the price sign while only 16% shop based on a loyalty program.  While I too look for the price sign I did expect a lot more business would be tied to loyalty programs.  With gas retailers spending millions of dollars a year to promote their loyalty programs you wonder if it is really worth it for them?
5. Consumers pay for gas with plastic. An overwhelming number (78%!) of consumers pay for their gas with a credit or debit card.  Another interesting tidbit related to plastic……Millennials (20 & 30s years) are most likely to pay with a debit card (52%) while Boomers (over 55 years) prefer to use a credit card (68%).
6. When consumers refuel, they fill up. No surprise here.  70% of Americans fill up their vehicles when refueling.  However, once you leave our country things change dramatically.  Our society is an anomaly when it comes to this buying habit.  The rest of the world typically buys gas several liters or gallons at a time.  This is predominantly due to A) they don’t drive as much as we do, B)  gas is way more expensive, and C) most consumers don’t have credit cards and use cash so they only buy what they need.
7. Almost half of all gas-buying customers go inside the store. Again, no surprise with this one as gas stations/convenience stores make the majority of their profits selling products inside the convenience store.
8. Consumers do not shop for gas in the same order. Which of these are you?  58% go inside the store first and then buy their gas but 42% buy their gas first and then go into the store.  I never go in the store first…..not quite sure why but to be honest have never thought about doing it the other way around!