Kalibrate Technologies (formerly KSS Fuels) today unveiled the results of its first annual global retail site evaluation and network planning survey. The results comprise feedback from executives at retail petroleum and convenience store companies representing 24,000 sites selling 30 billion gallons annually. The study reveals that 78% of respondents use third-party vendors versus in-house tools and processes to find new locations, determine sites to be remodeled and develop strategic plans for their network of sites.
In regards to volume forecasting, the survey shows that the three most important capabilities are:
1. Ability to forecast volumes for new locations including fuel, convenience store, car wash and fast food.
2. Ability to forecast volumes for changes to my existing sites including fuel, convenience store, car wash and fast food.
3. Ability to forecast cannibalization, which allows users to understand how much volume will be transferred from one site to another (including competitors) as a result of proposed changes.
Over 84% of respondents rate the ability to “identify the optimal locations for new sites” and “understand the strengths and weaknesses of their sites versus the competition” as the two most important analytics in their retail network planning process. Other highly rated analytics were determining return on investment, identifying key competitors, determining market share position and determining brand value.
More and more retailers are seeking to obtain competitor market data to improve their investment decisions. Survey findings show the most important data needed for retail site evaluation and network planning is traffic count data (92%) followed by demographic consumer data (89%), own site data (75%) and competitor site data (74%).
Half of those surveyed indicate having a method of forecasting volume prior to implementation of changing brands, adding diesel, adding pumps to the forecourt, adding a car wash or fast food restaurant and remodeling the convenience store.
“With today’s high cost of investment to build a retail site from the ground-up or remodel an existing facility, retailers want to ensure they will receive a return on their investment,” said Bob Stein, president and chief executive officer of Kalibrate Technologies. “They realize that utilizing predictive analytic solutions with relevant market and competitor data enables them to gain benefits they cannot get with an in-house system. Global vendors, like Kalibrate, are continually investing in software, science and data collection improvements to enable clients to focus on making the best investment decisions.”
For a copy of these survey findings, please contact your local Kalibrate Technologies representative.
About Kalibrate Technologies
Kalibrate (formerly KSS Fuels) is the only global provider of fuels pricing and retail location intelligence, helping retailers fine-tune decisions to deliver on performance goals. Its proven software, analytics and consulting solutions draw on more than 20 years of expertise and insight into the needs and opportunities of petroleum retailers. Kalibrate has headquarters in Manchester, United Kingdom and Florham Park, New Jersey. The company also has a Center of Excellence in Tulsa, Oklahoma and sales operations in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Canada, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Korea and Africa. For more information about Kalibrate, please visit KalibrateTech.com
