Fuel for thought

The Forecourt Report 2022 highlights the valuable role that forecourt stores play in their local communities.

By Gaelle Walker

Despite what can only be described as a stormy year for fuel supply and prices, the forecourt sector has continued to offer admirable levels of support and access to vital products and services to shoppers both near and far in 2022.

The 2022 Forecourt Report, published by the Association of Convenience Stores, highlights the critical role that forecourt stores have continued to play in their local communities over the past year, with 69% of forecourt retailers playing an active part, either by raising money for local charities, getting involved with local projects, and donating to food banks.

The report also highlights the lifeline role that many forecourts and their stores perform when it comes to connecting local people to vital products and services, with thousands of customers seeing forecourts as their local store.

According to the report, one in five forecourt shoppers visit their local forecourt store every day, while four in five visit at least once a week.

Responding to this demand has prompted many forecourt stores to continue improving their offers in the last year, with stores across the country introducing new product ranges such as food-to-go along with helpful Post Office services.

Many others have also invested in alternative power options for vehicles.

And the innovation drive hasn’t ended there. The Forecourt Report 2022 also shows that independent forecourt retailers have made significant investments in their businesses, spending around £18,000 on average last year.

Across the sector, the most common form of investment is refrigeration, with stores either looking to expand their range of fresh and chilled goods or upgrade their refrigeration to make it more energy efficient.

Half of the forecourt stores in the sector have doors on their chillers, with over a third (39%) using LED lighting and 8% using solar panels to reduce electricity costs.

Key findings from The Forecourt Report 2022 include:

• There are 8,379 fuel forecourt sites in the UK and 7,407 of them have shops.
• The total value of forecourt sales is £4.8bn.
• The UK forecourt sector creates over 84,000 jobs, with around one in four members of staff (23%) being in the business for more than 10 years.
• 69% of forecourt retailers are active in their communities, raising money for local charities, getting involved with local projects, and donating to food banks.
• One in five customers of forecourt stores visit every day with four in five visiting at least once a week.
• There are currently 768 electric charging devices located on 446 forecourt sites across the UK.
• Over the last year independent forecourts have invested £17,995 per store with 40% of investments concentrated in refrigeration, followed by store signage at 34%, shelving, at 32% and lighting upgrades at 31%.

The report also revealed that average fuel prices peaked in July this year, at 188.6p for petrol and 197.3p for diesel, before starting to fall in September.

Commenting on the report, ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “This has been a turbulent year for fuel supply and pricing, with international events determining the price that consumers pay at the pump. It is encouraging to see that fuel prices are trending downward after peaking in the summer, especially as everyone is looking to cut costs where possible.”

ACS has been working with the Competition and Markets Authority on their investigation into the fuel market, highlighting the different factors that affect the cost of a litre of petrol or diesel at the pump. The CMA’s initial findings earlier this year recognised that retailers have little control over the cost of fuel, making very small margins themselves, while changes in currency markets and the ‘refining spread’ contributed to much bigger variations in prices.