A report by the Association of Convenience Stores

The Forecourt Report 2017

#ForecourtReport

03 OCTOBER 2017

LOCATIONS

» FORECOURT LOCATIONS

02

This is the second edition of The Forecourt Report, building on The Local Shop Report which profiles the entire convenience sector. Forecourts are an important contributor to the lives of UK consumers, providing an essential service to customers looking for a wide range of products from traditional fuel purchases to a diverse shopping basket that can provide enough food for a family for the week. This report also shows the importance of the forecourt sector as a job creator, a place where businesses invest, a community hub and a home of innovation and entrepreneurship. Within the convenience sector, forecourts are often early adopters in areas like food to go, in-store coffee machines and technology like in-store wifi and contactless payment.

The purpose of this report is to highlight the role that convenience stores play on forecourt sites and the developing range of products and services that they offer. For the first time this year, we have also included trend data on the fuel sold in UK forecourts and the availability of electric vehicle charging points across the sector. The Forecourt Report 2017 brings together data from well-respected research organisations such as Experian Catalist, Portland Fuel, HIM, Nielsen, IGD, William Reed Business Media and Zap-Map in addition to new research that has been designed and commissioned by ACS. Together, this information provides a rich picture of the forecourt convenience market and its economic and social contribution to the UK.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FORECOURT STORES

acs.org.uk • @ACS_Localshops

THE IMPORTANCE OF FORECOURT STORES02

FORECOURT LOCATIONS03

FUEL SECTOR04

SHOPS06

SALES07

INVESTMENT08

TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES12

JOBS09

ENTREPRENEURS10

COMMUNITIES11

CUSTOMERS14

METHODOLOGY16

CONTENTS

CHARITY TAKE AWAY BETTINGHAIRDRESSERS SPORTS

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

CHARITY TAKE AWAY BETTINGHAIRDRESSERS SPORTS

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

CHARITY TAKE AWAY BETTINGHAIRDRESSERS SPORTS

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

RURAL 4,319 STORES

SUBURBAN 2,048 STORES

URBAN 2,063 STORES

51%

24%

25%

Source: ACS/HIM 2017 (Independents only)

ISOLATED SITE WITH NO OTHER RETAIL/SERVICE BUSINESSES CLOSE BY

CHARITY TAKE AWAY BETTINGHAIRDRESSERS SPORTS

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

54%

CHARITY TAKE AWAY BETTINGHAIRDRESSERS SPORTS

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

UP TO FIVE RETAIL/SERVICE BUSINESSES CLOSE BY

28%

CHARITY TAKE AWAY BETTINGHAIRDRESSERS SPORTS

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

UP TO 10 RETAIL/ SERVICE BUSINESSES CLOSE BY

6%

LOCATED ON A MAIN HIGH STREET OR WITHIN A CITY CENTRE CHARITY TAKE AWAY BETTINGHAIRDRESSERS SPORTS

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP

SHOP12%

NEIGHBOURING BUSINESSES

Wales has more forecourts per head than any other part of the UK. Each forecourt in Wales serves 5,776 people

London forecourts sell more fuel per store than any other region in the UK (5,496,000 litres per annum)

London forecourts generate higher shop sales per store than any other region in the UK (£896,000 per annum)

Source: WRBM/Neilsen 2017 and Experian Catalist 2017

Source: Experian Catalist 2017 and ONS 2016

04acs.org.uk • @ACS_Localshops

105,763 fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles now on UK roads

There are

05 OCTOBER 2017

» FUEL SECTOR

NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS BY FUEL TYPE

UK CHARGING POINTS BY TYPE

FUEL SALES (BILLIONS OF LITRES)

FUEL PRICING TRENDS (RETAIL PRICE PER LITRE ON LAST DAY OF MONTH)

1

PETROL SALES

DIESEL & PETROL SALES

HYBRID / ELECTRIC SALES

DIESEL SALES

1

2

Source: All data on this spread Portland Fuel 2017 unless specified. (1) Source: Department for Transport (2) Source: Zap-Map 2017

Source: Zap-Map 2017

*All years are full calendar year, except 2017 which is Jan to August inclusive

n Fast

n Slow

n Rapid (DC)

n Rapid (AC)

FORECOURTS IN THE UK

465 ELECTRIC CHARGING POINTS

225LOCATED ON

213,869 electric charging points in the UK

06 07acs.org.uk • @ACS_Localshops OCTOBER 2017

£4bn FORECOURT SALES CATEGORIES

of multiple1

forecourts are open 24 hours

80%16%of independentforecourts are open 24 hours

FORECOURT OPENING HOURS

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

0.00.20.40.60.81.0

0.00.20.40.60.81.0

0.00.20.40.60.81.0

Average number of hours open per day

Mon-Sat: Sun:

18.5 17.6

» SALES

TOTAL VALUE OF CONVENIENCE

FORECOURT SALES:

Source: ACS/HIM 2017. 1 Multiple forecourts include both oil company owned multiples and independent multiple retailers

Source: IGD 2017

Source: Nielsen 2017. The data reflects the core convenience product categories that are sold in forecourts, and represents the average across the whole forecourt sector. This data does not include food and drink to go categories.

Tobacco

Soft drinks

£837m

£301m

Convenience and deli

Confectionery

Non-food

Fresh milk

Crisps and snacks, nuts and seeds

Beers, wines and spirits

Sandwiches

Dairy excluding milk

Health, beauty, toiletries and baby

Ambient grocery

Household and pet

Meat and fish

Frozen

Bakery

Fresh produce

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

£204m

£179m

£69m

£179m

£112m

£64m

£40m

£26m

£26m

£24m

£17m

£7m

£23m

£17m

£2m

» SHOPS

FORECOURTS – SHOP OWNERSHIP

FORECOURTS – PREMISES OWNERSHIP

Source: ACS/HIM 2017(independents only)

FORECOURTS – SHOP SIZE

FORECOURTS – STORE TYPES

1-999 sq ft 1,000-1,999 sq ft 2,000-3,000 sq ft

Source: Experian Catalist 2017

Source: Experian Catalist 2017

Source: Experian Catalist 2017

77% 16% 7%

FUEL FORECOURT STORES IN THE UK8,430 THERE ARE

Source: WRBM/Nielsen 2017

n Standard – Traditional forecourt shop building, selling newspapers, cigarettes, confectionery, oil plus some food, pre-packed sandwiches, snacks and drink items.

n Convenience store – Likely to be a modern branded shop development offering a wide range of convenience shopping for the motorist on the move. Often has dedicated shop parking.

n None – No operating shop. Unmanned locations and some sites where payment is made in other premises e.g. a car dealership.

n Kiosk – May sell a small amount of oil, cigarettes and confectionery.

9 OCTOBER 2017 8acs.org.uk • @ACS_Localshops

» JOBS

GENDER PROFILE

AGE PROFILE

FAMILY EMPLOYMENT

HOURS WORKED

All data on this page – source: ACS/HIM 2017 (independents only)

In-store lighting 10%

» INVESTMENT

AREAS OF INVESTMENT (OF THOSE INVESTING)

Refrigeration 26%Other energy

efficiency measures 19%

Shelving 19%

Crime preventionmeasures 11%

Internal building development 14%

SOURCES OF INVESTMENT

n Funded from own reserves

n Funded/provided by suppliers

n Bank funding

n Funded/provided by symbol group

n Borrowed money from another business

n Other wholesaler funding

Parkingprovision 1%

Till systems(eg EPoS) 10%

Store signage13%

Bakery

Frozen

Dairy

Improving store access 3%

Air-conditioning7%

P

Freezer space 5%

Full storerefits 7%

NEW StoreOpening Soon!

Internal building maintenance 17%

HAVE INVESTED

OVER THE LAST YEAR

INDEPENDENT FORECOURTS

PER STORE

£12,445»

AMOUNT OF REFRIGERATION

Source: ACS/HIM 2017

Source: ACS Investment Tracker 2016/2017 unless specified(Independents only, except areas of Investment)

109,000 THE FORECOURTSECTOR PROVIDES

JOBS IN THE UK

LENGTH OF EMPLOYMENT

Louisiana Chicken

Brasserie Biarritz

Menu

The King CharlesDylan’s Pharmacy

Prescriptions & Advice Prescriptions & Advice

local shop Open 6.30am–11pm Every Day

National Bank

ISA0.6%

ABCCurrentaccount

ISA0.6%

ABCCurrentaccount local shop

10 11acs.org.uk • @ACS_Localshops OCTOBER 2017

» COMMUNITIES

MOST POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE LOCAL AREA

4 5 6 7Coffee shops / cafés Pubs / barsPharmacies Restaurants

11 13 1412Charity shops PawnbrokersFast food / takeaways Betting shops

9 108Non-foodBanks Petrol stations

3Post offices Convenience stores Specialist food shops

1 2

» ENTREPRENEURS

All data on this page – source ACS/HIM 2017 (independents only)

Source: ACS Community Barometer 2017

6%Source: ACS/HIM 2016/2017

71%

Collecting money for a national or local charity:

Providing funding, or in kind support, to a community event:

Providing sponsorship to a local sports team or other community activity:

Taking part in community, council or local business association meeting or project:

COMMUNITY ACTIVITY

of independent forecourts engaged in some form of community activity in the past year76%

24% 16%

have been in the business

for more than 25 years

19%

OF SHOP OWNERS WORK

MORE THAN

10%70HOURS

PER WEEK

take no holiday per year

9%

31% OF BUSINESSES ARE OWNED BY FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS

OWNERSHIP AGE AND GENDER PROFILE

BUSINESS PROFILE

TIME IN BUSINESS

Free to usecash machines

*50%

Loyalty card 62%

Licensing

Alcohol licence

Late night refreshmentlicence

Parcel services 43%

Bill paymentservices 54%

Cash back 22%

12acs.org.uk • @ACS_Localshops 13 OCTOBER 2017

» TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES

ENVIRONMENTCAR WASH FORECOURT SERVICESACCESS

78%

27%

88%Mobile phonetop-up

27

1825

32

46

Lottery *55%

Charged cashmachines

*8% Home news delivery 5% Post office 4%

Dry cleaning 1%

Local grocerydelivery 6%

Prescriptioncollections 1%Photo booth 1%Key cutting

services 1%

The percentage of forecourt stores in the convenience sector that provide each feature is as follows:

All data on this spread – source: ACS/HIM 2017, unless specified. EPoS – source: ACS/HIM 2016/2017. All features with an * – source: Experian Catalist 2017

Hearing aid loops17%

Wheelchair access

Customer toilets

Seating areas

84%

40%

Community noticeboard23%

4%

Automatic machine car wash30%

Jet wash (manual)38%

Hand car wash (attended)6%

Wider aisles to improve accessibility65%

Electric vehicle charging point1%

Red diesel 4%

AdBlue

LPG (liquid petroleum gas)

Hydrogen refuelling station

55%

11%

0%

Pay at pump16%

*

* *

*

*Car wash(overall)

*51%

*

*

14acs.org.uk • @ACS_Localshops 15 OCTOBER 2017

» CUSTOMERS

FORECOURT CUSTOMER PROFILE

MODE OF TRAVEL TO STORES

VISIT FREQUENCY

→ AGE PROFILE OF SHOPPERS

→ GENDER PROFILE

→ SOCIAL GROUPS

Public transport

1%Drive

71%Walk/on foot

25%Other

3%

THE AVERAGE SHOPPER VISITS THEIR LOCAL FORECOURT

2.66times per week

are buying on19%WORK FULL TIME

59%

14%

34%

59%

41%

6

7

8

9 Long opening hours

10

Range of food-to-go

Having the products that I want in stock

4 Hot drinks-to-go

5 Parking

1 It’s close to where I live

2 It’s close to where I work

SHOP

SHOP

3 Friendly and helpful staff

DISTANCE TRAVELLED TO STORE

SHOPPER MISSIONS

£5.60THE AVERAGE SPEND IS

50%of customers pay by cash

SPECIAL

OFFER

1 2 53 64 7

1 2 53 64 7

30%

29%

14%

10%

17%

TOP TEN DRIVERS TO FORECOURT STORES

All data on this spread – source: HIM CTP 2017

Local staff who know me

I like to support my local store

SHOP

#ForecourtReport

For more details on this report, contact Katie Cross via email at katie.cross@acs.org.uk

For more details on ACS: Visit: www.acs.org.uk Call: 01252 515001Follow us on Twitter: @ACS_Localshops

CONTACTS

© ACS 2017. Design & illustration by www.fluiddesignstudio.com

This report would not have been possible without the support of a number of industry and research organisations that have helped by providing data.

These sources are referenced alongside the relevant sections of the report, and those organisations are:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Data for The Forecourt Report was undertaken by ACS in the form of two surveys: 1. Independent Forecourt Survey – Data is taken from a sub-sample of The Local Shop Report dataset, specifically the 240 independent shops which are fuel forecourts (both symbol independents and unaffiliated independents). The Local Shop Report includes a sample of 2,420 independently owned convenience store businesses in the UK. ACS contracted HIM Research and Consulting to aid in the design and delivery of the survey. The survey was carried out over the phone by BCC Marketing between 26th June and 19th July 2017. The survey gathered responses from unaffiliated independent convenience stores and independent stores that are part of central buying or marketing (known as ‘symbol’) groups. These are represented in the survey in the same proportion as they are represented in the market. 2. Multiple Forecourt Survey – ACS conducted a survey of its multiple chain members. This survey was based on the questions asked in the independent retailer survey, where relevant, to ensure consistency and accuracy of results. This survey returned results representing a sample of 1,197 forecourt stores. ACS Investment Tracker Survey – ACS conducts quarterly surveys of both independent and multiple retailers, gathering responses about the investment plans of respondents stores and businesses. The data included in the report on investment references the average of four quarters of responses from forecourt retailers (as a subset of the overall sample). The time period covered by the results is August 2016 – May 2017.

Nielsen and William Reed Business Media sector dataNielsen utilises cross referencing data from trade associations, retailers, suppliers and customer lists. This is supplemented by gap analysis and wide-search primary research. WRBM continually updates data through re-registering customers thereby adding changed recipients, closures and new stores. This is through postal, telephone research, online delivery and events.

Convenience Retailing 2017 report – IGDThis report is compiled by the IGD based on the sales data up to the end of March 2017.

Convenience Tracking Programme 2017– HIM Research and ConsultingThis programme is a survey of over 20,000 convenience shoppers conducted at the ‘moment of truth’ in-store.

Market Summary Report 2017 – Experian CatalistCatalist surveyors will visit some 4,500 forecourts spread over each 12-month period – circa 50% of the UK forecourt network each year. The surveyors have the data and photos on an iPad from the previous site visit and they will check on the site compared to the previous visit and other known changes. The Catalist surveyors are typically ex-oil company or ex-forecourt shop suppliers so they are very familiar with the forecourt sector. During a visit they will update the data and take new photos. Population data – The office of National Statistics Data is taken from mid-2016 UK Population estimates.

Community BarometerComRes – Interviewed 438 local councillors in Britain, using a combination of paper and online surveys, between 19th April and 28th June 2017. Data was weighted by party and region to be representative of all councillors in Britain.

Populus – Interviewed 2,080 consumers in Britain between 14th and 15th June 2017. The sample has been weighted to be nationally representative of the population of Britain.

ACS Colleague Survey – A sample of 1,230 staff working within the convenience sector. The sample consists of people working for both independent and multiple retailers. The data used within this report excludes respondents who reported their job role as ‘manager’.

Portland Fuel – Portland Analytics’ price assessments reflect trading transactions conducted in north west European wholesale markets. This is further supplemented through analysis of a wide range of historical customer, supplier and government data sources.

Zap-Map – For more information about the data please visit: www.zap-map.com

» METHODOLOGY