European Convenience Road Trip Insights Match 2021 Google Review Study
International travel is returning as COVID restrictions ease across much of Europe. For over a year and a half, many retail leaders have relied on virtual meetings and phone calls to get a pulse on store performance and standards.
This story follows Perry Paganelli and Norbert Dykiel, CAF c-store industry experts, on an epic, 2,000+ km European Road Trip from Warsaw, Poland to Tallinn, Estonia and back to visit petrol stations along the way.
Their goal was to connect with customers, train employees and observe site standards. The insights from their pictures and in-person experience mirror customer feedback from a recent 2021 study analyzing over 1,000 Google customer reviews.
European 2021 C-Store Shopper Insights Survey
Retailers are constantly trying to get in the minds of shoppers to know what they value and how their customer experience measures up against expectations.
Online purchasing and Amazon have changed the way consumers make decisions. Publicly available and un-censored customer reviews are now the number #1 resource in making a choice.
According to a recent 2021 study, 67% of all customer reviews are written on Google Review (Birdeye.com), making Google the go-to resource for customer research and retailer insights.
2021 Study Summary
CAF Outdoor Cleaning recently released the results from a second deep dive analysis into online google ratings across Europe to better understand what customers care about and how they rate their shopping experience.
Specifically, the study analyzed 1,000+ customer reviews across 40 top-rated convenience chains in 18 different European countries. To gain the most insight, 5-star and 1-star ratings were selected to identify what customers raved or raged about.
The average convenience store studied had 364 reviews. That is a significant 73% increase from the 210 average last found in a similar study from 2019.
Ratings continue to be mostly positive with 78% of the reviews analyzed being positive.
The average rating across all locations increased from 3.9 to 4.2, signaling an improvement in the customer experience. Retailers continue to focus on improving the customer experience as the expectations for most shoppers of a “5-star” experience continue to rise.
Convenience and Fuel Consumer Priorities
Beyond the star rating, many customers leave feedback with their score signaling what the customer loved or hated about their experience. The data tracked how often common feedback was given for both a 5-star and 1-star rating.
Shoppers most commonly cited;
- Friendly as the #1 reason for a positive 5-star review.
- Food, Drink & Snack Options took the #2, #4, and #5 spots for importance.
- Cleanliness ranked #3 with nearly a third (29%) of shoppers mentioning cleanliness when giving a 5-star review.
This mirrors US data from Gasbuddy, citing that cleanliness ranks most commonly values in reason for selecting a pit stop when looking at what factor most often made the top 3 reason.
Unhappy, 1-star reviews also mentioned the inverse of those Top 5 Positive Reasons.
Dirty, unfriendly and no food options all continue to drive negative feedback. Although not a top reason for a positive experience – Fuel Price and Speed both topped the list of reasons for a poor experience. It is difficult to “win” business with price and speed, but according to the review results it is a common reason for a negative experience.
Data Matches “Real-World” Customer Experience
Smiling, helpful and professional employees make a big difference.
From their visits, Norbert said that “he felt welcomed and appreciated when the store atmosphere included smiling and happy employees who took the time to say “hi” and thank him for stopping in.” While expectations around customer service vary across the globe, customer reviews and surveys continue to reward friendly employees.
According to online reviews, top-rated pitstops are filled with great food and drink options. The traveling adventurers consistently found good examples of fresh coffee, grab-and-go food options and sit-down dining.
As a general rule, newer store formats featured an increased focus on fresh food, while older model stores offered snacks and drinks without the clear focus on fresh food.
Common Pitfalls in the Fill-Up Experience
From the pictures and in-person experience, it’s clear that onsite employees and retail brands put a lot of effort into delighting customers when they walk into their stores.
The problem is that for many locations the negative customer experience occurs before the customer ever gets inside the store. While filling up the car and deciding what to purchase, most customers are standing in the dirtiest and most unwelcoming area of the station – the forecourt.
Perry Paganelli, VP of CAF Outdoor Cleaning, has visited thousands of locations over the last 20+ years starting with his engineering experience with Mobil Oil.
On the issue of dirty forecourts, Perry added “European convenience retailers maintain extremely high standards for food service and store design. However, despite the high attention to detail inside the store – many petrol locations and store employees struggle with focusing properly on pump & forecourt cleanliness, which is exactly where customers’ first impression begins.” Google reviews show that almost half (43%) of all negative 1-star ratings mention “dirty”.
“I rarely see a dirty instore experience,” adds Perry, “but with the high diesel volumes and lack of attention to the forecourt cleanliness, customers are often standing in diesel and oil stains when filling up.”
Another challenge area identified in both online reviews and first-hand road trip experience are dirty bathrooms. Overall, site visits found bathrooms well designed and maintained. The unfortunate problem is that after just one inattentive customer the next customers experience can really suffer.
The challenge for maintaining a 5-star customer experience clearly extends beyond site design and initial build/refresh investment. Great stores have great employees. Employees that deliver on the areas that matter most for shoppers like cleanliness, food & drink options and friendliness create happy, loyal customers that will rave about their experience online.
Earn Customer Loyalty and Growth Through Best-In-Class Operations
While it sounds as easy as 1…2…3…
- Train friendly employees.
- Offer food and drinks customers want.
- Keep a clean; forecourt, shop and bathroom.
Maintaining consistently high brand standards across a network of locations is NOT EASY!
Having great vendor partners, consistent process, and execution are everything. There always seems to be too many things to do and not enough time or labour to get it done, especially in today’s difficult labour market. Aleksandr Pecul, Process & Operations Manager at Circle K, shares how using improved processes with professional partners and tools can deliver better results with less labor.
Find Further Study Insights and Road Trip Pictures Online
In the 2021 and 2019 studies, ratings and feedback were tracked by brand to provide additional insights on retailer performance. A full copy of the reports are available to view and download at https://www.mycaf.com/convenience-insights. Additional road trip pictures are also available.
