by John Keller | Nov 23, 2011 | Fuel Price Management, Retail Fuel Margins
The latest MasterCard Spending Pulse survey reported retail fuel sales down 4.5% compared to the same period last year for the week ending November 18.
Holiday travel for this year is predicted to be higher than last year, but not enough to turn around the trend. Experts cite the causes as being high unemployment and low wages.
From a fuel price management perspective, this survey indicates the ongoing trend of fuels retailers chasing fewer fuel gallons, making the environment even more competitive and with less room for error. Convenience stores without the most advanced fuel price management solutions will find it increasingly difficult to effectively compete in these market conditions.
by John Keller | Nov 21, 2011 | Industry News
As we finish up the 2011 calendar year, we see electric car sales at a less than impressive number. The Chevy Volt has sales of about 10,000 cars. The Nissan Leaf has sales of about 8,000 cars. As a comparison, total car sales in the US should be in the range of 13 million for this year.
From a fuels price management perspective, it’s clear that electric cars are not on a near-term path to have a significant impact on overall fuels volumes. Petroleum is clearly the on-going primary source of fuels volumes sold.
by John Keller | Nov 18, 2011 | Industry News, PriceAdvantage, Retail Fuel Margins
ConsumerAffairs.com posted a report that this week fuel prices didn’t track with the price of West Texas oil. That’s consistent with an earlier blog article I wrote saying retail fuel prices are not likely to respond to changes in WTI. It’s interesting to see that the prediction is proving to be true.
by John Keller | Nov 17, 2011 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Management Solutions
Stan Sheetz, the CEO of Sheetz Inc., said in a Fox TV interview that Sheetz will be opening 100 new stores in North Carolina over the next 8 years. Sheetz has previously announced that North Carolina and West Virginia are its top markets for expansion.
Mr. Sheetz also said in the interview that when a new store opens, they open with a “very, very aggressive” fuel price. State laws in North Carolina allow for stores to have fuel prices below cost for the first 10 days of opening. Mr. Sheetz said “…when a store opens, Sheetz drops the price below cost, resulting in long lines and a lot of buzz.”
Sheetz has a strong partnership with Skyline Products for both electronic price signs and PriceAdvantage fuel pricing software. Sheetz uses this synergy to quickly adjust fuel prices at the electronic price sign, POS and pump. This round trip fuels pricing solution allows Sheetz to reach peak operational efficiency with their fuels price management.
From a fuels price management perspective, Sheetz competitors in North Carolina can expect aggressive fuel prices, especially aggressive during the first 10 days after opening a new store when Sheetz will likely price their fuel below cost.
by John Keller | Nov 16, 2011 | Fuel Price Management Solutions, Industry News, PriceAdvantage
PriceAdvantage, a division of Skyline Products, announced today that CEFCO Convenience Stores has added 71 sites to its ongoing partnership. The new sites will be implementing PriceAdvantage, a fuel price management solution that has proven to be invaluable to CEFCO, across its network. The new sites are in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi.
“PriceAdvantage has increased our efficiency across the fuel pricing process but most significantly in the time it takes us to price our 194 sites”, says Brett Giesick, Chief Retail Officer of CEFCO Convenience Stores. “We have found that it takes us only 1-2 hours to complete price changes across the network, including updates to the POS, pump and electronic price signs. So naturally it was an easy decision to include the additional new sites in our partnership with Skyline.”
Aaron McHugh, Head of PriceAdvantage division, adds “We are elated that CEFCO has seen such an improvement in their fuel pricing process with PriceAdvantage, and we’re excited to be a part of their success.”
PriceAdvantage is a highly specialized retail fuel pricing solution for the Convenience Store industry, designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of a retailer’s pricing process. PriceAdvantage provides automation for the entire fuel pricing process, from collection of competitive surveys, to efficient and detailed analysis for best price determination, to rapid speed-to-the-street price change execution. The ability to change prices immediately at the POS, fuel pumps and electronic price signs from the centralized headquarters location with one click makes the solution unique in the industry.
