GasBuddy and Cuebiq Foot Traffic Study Sheds Light on Customer Behavior in 2017; Forecasts 2018
GasBuddy, the only smartphone app connecting drivers with their Perfect Pit Stop, and Cuebiq, a leading location intelligence and measurement company with the largest, most accurate location database in the U.S., have released their latest quarterly joint study examining foot traffic of GasBuddy users to convenience stores and gas stations across the U.S. Based on an analysis of nearly 121 million consumer trips, this report examines 2017 trends and includes analysis, insights, and a 2018 convenience retailing forecast by the award-winning editorial team at CSP.
Leveraging Cuebiq’s proprietary intelligence platform and data collection methodology, the companies analyzed anonymous geo-behavioral patterns of GasBuddy’s app users, which allowed them to gain insights into its users’ offline behavior such as frequency of station visits, fueling patterns, how long they spend at a location and brand loyalty, and offered recommendations to make these insights actionable for retailers.
Key study highlights include:
Ricker’s Captures the Top Spot in 2017. The Indiana-based retailer edges out the competition for the highest ratio of footfall per station in 2017—nearly five times the industry average. Costco claims second place after capturing the top spot in Q4, and Meijer comes in a close third.
Good Forecourt Lighting is Good for Business. Throughout 2017, there was a strong correlation between overnight foot traffic and the quality of forecourt lighting. Stations near interstates with above-average outdoor lighting ratings on GasBuddy saw a 50% increase in foot traffic, during the hours of 9:00pm to 5:00am, when compared to those with below-average ratings.
Visits Were Up in Q4. From Q3 to Q4 2017, visits to gas stations and convenience stores saw an uplift of 5.15%.
Busiest Time of the Day. An analysis of location data reveals that Friday at 12:00pm saw the highest average levels of foot traffic in 2017. Lunch hours were the busiest during the work week, and the morning commute was comparatively slower.
GasBuddies Go Beyond the Pump. McDonald’s narrowly edged out Subway to become GasBuddies’ favorite quick-service restaurant of 2017, and Starbucks took the title over Dunkin’ Donuts in the coffee shop category. Some holiday weekends were popular times to shop and dine out, but others were comparatively slow. GasBuddies rushed to retailers on Thanksgiving weekend to leverage post-holiday sales, but many chose to stay home during Christmas.
CSP Forecasts 2018. The award-winning editorial team at CSP forecasts key trends that are set to drive industry progress—and pain—in the year to come.
View the full report here.
Methodology
During 2017, GasBuddy and Cuebiq analyzed location visit data at more than 100 fuel and convenience store brands across the United States to understand foot traffic trends, provide geo-behavioral and consumer insights and identify the impact of key factors such as the customer experience, ratings and holiday travel on POI visits.
