Why we shop at gas stations

Get happy #32: Customer needs have changed filling stations - and will continue to do so

If you know where this picture above was taken, you must be a bit older. 

It's the interior of a gas station. 

Today, gas stations usually look very different. They have become small supermarkets. 

On the one hand, this is because it is convenient to shop where you can fill up and park. It is also because, in many countries, the legal opening times for gas stations are laxer than for supermarkets. 

In Germany, for example, supermarkets usually have to be closed on Sundays, but gas stations are allowed to be open. On Sundays, anyone who needs cigarettes, milk, toilet paper or flowers buys them at the gas station. 

Many gas stations these days only make a small part of their sales with petrol products.

Get happy: The change in gas station shops over the past few decades shows how customer needs are breaking new ground. Because the opening hours at gas stations are often longer, they have developed into supermarkets. It will be interesting to see how e-mobility will continue transforming this business area. For one thing, the charging process takes longer than refuelling. Plus, filling stations are not the only providers for charging electric cars. So gas stations will face more competition. Both changes indicate that the stay at the stations will become more pleasant, and the number of services offered will continue to increase. It is also conceivable that gas stations will disappear completely - but unlikely as long as the privilege of long opening hours persists.

Onwards, 

Johannes Eber

PS: The photo above is a very recent one. I took it a few days ago at a gas station in my vacation spot Bayerisch Eisenstein, Bavaria, Germany.