Costco is where North America prefers to fill their gas tanks, according to a new study by Market Force Information, a worldwide leader in customer intelligence solutions. Wholesale clubs once again beat out traditional gas stations in popularity, with Sam’s Club coming in second behind Costco among the more than 7,600 study participants. QuikTrip, Wawa and RaceTrac also had strong showings in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively. Costco also ranked No. 1 in Market Force’s 2012 gas station study.
The study was designed to uncover which gas stations consumers frequent the most, as well as why they choose one over another. Market Force first calculated the rankings based on total votes, and then factored in the number of locations for each chain for a weighted view of the results. Of the 53 chains studied, Shell initially amassed the highest number of votes, which can be attributed to the fact that it has more than 10,000 locations in North America. However, when viewed as a calculation of votes per location, Costco ranked first.
With their low prices and convenient gas pumps, grocers and wholesale clubs are continuing to take market share from national gas retailers. When asked where they most frequently fuel their cars, less than half (49 percent) said they go to a national gas station chain, and 21 percent said they visit a local gas station. Meanwhile, nearly one-third (30 percent) said they most frequently fuel up at either a grocery store or wholesale club. This is on par with the 2012 gas station survey by Market Force when 32 percent said they fill up most often at a grocery store or wholesale club.
Most popular gas stations by region
When the results were analyzed across four U.S. regions, Costco remained in the top spot in the West, garnering 17 percent of the votes, while ARCO/ampm came in second with 11 percent, and Chevron and Shell tied for third with 9 percent. Speedway was a clear winner in the Midwest with 15 percent, followed by BP (9 percent) and Shell (8 percent). In the South, Shell earned 13 percent of the votes, with Walmart ranking second (11 percent) and Kroger in third (10 percent). In the Northeast, Sunoco dominated with 12 percent, followed by Hess/Hess Express and Shell (tying for second with 8% of the votes), and Exxon Mobil in third with 7 percent.
It’s a matter of convenience
For most gas station visitors, it’s all about location. Convenience is the factor that consumers said they like most about their preferred gas station—in fact, it ranked slightly higher than fuel prices, which was second on the list. Other important factors included ease of entry and exit, a feeling of safety and cleanliness. Features like environmental consciousness and car wash promotions were lower on the list.
“It’s no surprise to fuel brands that consumers care most about price and convenience, but what this research also points to is that consumers also make decisions based on the service they receive at their favorite locations,” said Janet Eden-Harris, CMO for Market Force. “Cleanliness, friendliness, amenities—they all matter.”
Customer experience attributes steer drivers to gas stations
Market Force also wanted to find out how each chain fared individually in the five areas that consumers indicated matter most to them, and what drives them to frequent one gas station over another. When it analyzed the leading chains according to the top five attributes (convenient location, fuel price, ease of entry and exit, feeling of safety and cleanliness), QuikTrip and Costco snagged first and second place in nearly every area. Casey’s General Store took the top spot for convenient location and second place for ease of entry and exit, while Sam’s Club was second in highly important fuel price category. Phillips 66 was among the top three for feeling of safety, and RaceTrac performed consistently well across the board.
The survey also looked at nine other attributes—from fuel promotions to friendliness of fuel assistants to curb apparel—and asked consumers to rank the gas stations on those customer experience variables. QuikTrip again made a strong showing, leading in five of the nine categories. Phillips 66 fared well for the friendliness of its fuel assistant, amenities, car wash promotions and reliable window cleaning materials. Kroger’s fuel promotions were tops in consumers’ minds, while Chevron had the best brand reputation and the second best fuel quality (behind QuikTrip).
“In this survey, we found that nearly half of consumers were either unsatisfied or neutral in regards to their most recent trip to a gas station,” said Eden-Harris. “This presents significant opportunity for gas stations to increase their business by delighting their customers on several customer experience variables. Market Force has found that delighted customers are eight times more likely to recommend a business to friends, compared to neutral consumers.”
