ALEXANDRIA, VA - NACS has released two new fuels-related videos as part of its 2012 NACS Retail Fuels Report.
One video looks at the introduction of remote self-service fueling in 1964, while a second video focuses on new trends on display at the recent 2012 Washington Auto Show.
Today, convenience stores sell as estimated 80% of the fuels purchased in the country. But that wasn??t always the case. It took a radical new technology ?" remote self-serve fueling introduced in 1964 ?" and some clever promotional ideas to grow the industry. NACS spoke to John Roscoe, who pioneered self-serve fueling in 1964, about the growth of the industry.
"The advantage of selling gasoline is that we were in somebody else??s business with none of the other guys expenses. We were selling gas probably 10% cheaper than the major stations. And you
have to remember the gas probably at that time was selling for 21 to 22 cents a gallon. So, a 2-cent discount was a 10% reduction in price. The business caught on by itself," Roscoe told NACS.
However, it took longer for retailers to warm up to the idea. At the 1964 NACS Annual Meeting, Roscoe talked about the new concept in a panel presentation about new profits centers.
"There were four people on the panel. I talked about gasoline and convenience stores. There was a convenience store operator from Portland who had fresh cut meat. The question and answer period was entirely about how do you do fresh-cut meat at convenience stores. And they loved the idea. Nobody loved the idea of gasoline," said Roscoe.
The second NACS video looks at the future of fueling, giving viewers an insider??s perspective from the 2012 Washington Auto Show.
"It is really where we see policy and technology meet," said NACS Vice President of Government Relations John Eichberger. "For the convenience store industry, understanding where the auto industry is heading and how that combines with federal policy is critical to understanding what we need to plan to sell to our customers in the future.
Eichberger said there were three clear trends from the 2012 auto show: fuel efficient vehicles to meet new CAFE standards, the evolution of electric vehicles and a continued increase in the sale of diesel-powered vehicles.