A Swedish forecourt chain: from gut feeling to network playbook
Over 100 petrol stations and one question for the whole network: of everyone who stops, how many actually come into the store? This case shows what changed when every forecourt was measured the same way.
Key features
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Capture rate, per site
Pump-to-store conversion measured continuously at every station.
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Site-to-site benchmarking
Because every site was measured the same way, the best forecourts became the model for the rest.
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EV charging, measured
Charging visitors split into three measurable groups, so the chain can see which stations turn charging time into store visits.
- 100+
- Sites measured the same way
- ~20%
- Typical pump-to-store capture
- 8–55%
- Spread between sites in one period
- 10–15%
- Store visitors who also filled up
A Swedish petrol station chain with over 100 sites wanted an answer to one question across the whole network: of everyone who stops, how many actually come into the store? Petrol retail depends on that step, from the pump across the forecourt and through the door, yet most chains only ever see the till side of it. The chain decided to measure the whole step at every site.
The rollout
Each station was zoned into pumps, EV charging, store and restaurant, and measured with small installations. The rollout needed no trenches or rebuilds, only the same setup repeated across the network, so it could be run as a logistics exercise. From day one, every site reported the same metrics on the same definitions, and that is what makes numbers comparable between a motorway site and a town-edge site.
What the network learned
The capture rate is lower than operators assume, and the spread shows where the most is to be gained. Pump-to-store conversion is often around 20 percent, and it varies widely between sites: in one measured period, stations ranged from 8 to 55 percent. The spread is the reason to measure the whole network. The question stops being “is 20 percent good?” and becomes “what are the 55 percent sites doing that the 8 percent sites are not?”, and the best forecourts become the model for the rest.
The store is a destination in its own right. The dependency rate ran as low as 10 to 15 percent, meaning only 10 to 15 percent of store visitors also filled up. Once it is visible that the store is a business with its own customer flow, staffing, layout and promotion decisions look different.
EV charging changes the funnel. Charging visitors split into three measurable groups: charging-only, converted into the store or restaurant, and lost. Time spent charging is an opportunity for the store, and it is now measured per site. The network can see which stations turn charging minutes into store visits and which let those visitors drive away.
Why it worked at 100+ sites
Multi-site measurement depends on doing it the same way everywhere, and that comes down to how the measurement is built. This one is built to be anonymous and is identical at site one and site two hundred, so the privacy review happened once and the rollout never reopened it. The full approach for forecourts, from capture rate to site-by-site benchmarking, is covered on petrol stations & convenience retail; the metrics themselves are in data deliverables.