What will happen to gas stations when all cars go electric?

I will change the question’s wording to “convenience shop business” instead of “gas station business”.

They will prosper once the convenience store industry accepts that EVs exist and starts installing charging stations. They complain that they only make one cent per gallon of gas, but they make their real money by getting customers to visit the store. To get customers to pay less at the pump, they resort to tricks such as not changing the paper on receipt printers and requiring them to enter the store to use their credit cards.

Install a few charging stations, and you’re good to go! Now you have a customer who will stay with you for between 20 and 30 minutes. If you have the right products, they will almost certainly walk into your store to buy something. Sheetz, a US gas station chain, has finally discovered this.

It’s also a win-win situation for charging station providers, as electricity is cheap. Demand charges, however, can make it expensive to provide fast charge services. You need to spread the cost across a large number customers to avoid demand charges. However, it takes longer to charge an electric vehicle than filling a car with gasoline. Plus, you don’t have 16 charging stations on your premises. It’s difficult to make a profit just on charging. If you are able to get customers to come to your store and buy high-profit margin products, you can make a profit on charging. However, it is possible to charge a high price but still print a coupon that can be used to purchase items in the store.

Let’s be clear: This is not a positive outlook for convenience stores.

  • There won’t be as many of them on every street corner as you have gas stations. 95% of EV charging is done at home. This means that we’re talking about drivers who are driving long distances. Although you can use far fewer outlets, they must be in convenient locations.
  • Convenience shops will have to improve their image. Although the Sheetz model is an excellent example, it’s still a high-end gas station. To attract customers to the store, they will need to be at a similar level.
  • It is simply not possible to get the same number of customers from a traditional gas station that has 8 or more pumps. Despite this, most people will pay at the pumps or pay in person. This means that the customers you attract are more likely spend time and money in your store. You must have what they want.

 

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