The following article appeared in the April NACS Magazine “Ideas 2 Go” column. NACS Ideas 2 Go shares innovative ideas—both big and small—from convenience retailers across the country. In addition to NACS Magazine articles, since 1994, the Ideas 2 Go video program has featured hundreds of interviews with retailers from nearly every state and five countries. To watch these retailers in action, visit nacsonline.com/ideas2go.
We’ve all experienced that smack-your-forehead moment when you start your car’s engine and remember: “Argh! I forget to get gas.” That moment is one that services such as Filld and Mobile Fuelz are trying to erase with on-demand fuel delivery.
“Our customers say the biggest reason they use our service is timing—that we save them the hassle and inconvenience of filling their tank with gasoline,” said Christopher Aubuchon, co-founder and CEO of Filld. Aubuchon and Scott Hempy founded the service, which is based in Silicon Valley, California, in January 2015, and filled its first tank a few months later in April.
The Concept
Home delivery has been around for a long time. A century ago, most Americans could receive regular deliveries of ice, milk, coal, bread and other sundries directly to their homes. Gradually, those services moved from the streets to the stores, but the pendulum is gradually swinging back to home deliveries in many industries.
Amazon, with its one-day delivery on many goods, acclimated many consumers to the idea of the (nearly) instant gratification of purchasing home-delivered products. On-demand fuel for residents and businesses is the next phase of on-demand delivery.
Recent startup Mobile Fuelz in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, buys its gasoline from a distributor who owns a lot of gasoline stations. “Purchasing fuel for a program like mine wasn’t easy,” owner Jeff Lucas said.
These fuel delivery companies generally have a flat delivery fee on top of the gasoline price, which is tied to the price area gasoline stations have posted. “We pay for data from [the Oil Price Information Service] to have access to the prices of area stations,” Aubuchon said. “Then depending on where the customer’s car is located, we base our price of gasoline on the nearest five gasoline stations.”
Naturally, traditional gasoline stations and convenience stores question whether these on-demand fuel delivery companies are competitors or a complementary service. “One challenge that these delivery sites have is competing on price because delivery is inherently labor-intensive,” said Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president for strategic industry initiatives. He pointed out two concerns on-demand fuel delivery companies must address: verifying the accuracy of a fill-up and having the proper procedures in place to avoid any environmental issues, such as vapor recovery and fire-suppression systems.
“Gas stations have been selling gasoline the same way for decades, and that will never go away,” Lucas said. “I don’t see myself as a competitor to gasoline stations or convenience stores. I have one service and one product, while gas stations have evolved to offer so many different products that they appeal to a wider range of customers.”
The Appeal
For customers, convenience tops the list of reasons to use on-demand fuel delivery services. “It’s also that personal service we provide, coming directly to either a home or office parking lot to fill your tank,” Lucas said.
“We’re also trying to bring back old-fashioned customer service,” Aubuchon explained. Filld offers customers a chance to request something extra when scheduling a delivery. “We’ve had people ask for windshield wiper refills and to fill a gas can,” he said. “We consider ourselves as providing as close to the old full-service gasoline experience as possible.” That strategy has paid off for Filld, which has users in the thousands (with many repeat customers) and gallons sold similar to a gas station’s volume.
However, Lenard pointed out that fuel customers can be very fickle when it comes to cost. Historically, “fuel consumers were very clear that they didn’t want to pay extra for full-service gas at stations, which is why it is so rare to find in states besides New Jersey and Oregon, where it is mandated,” Lenard said. “Year after year, fuel consumers tell us [in the annual NACS Consumer Fuels Report] that they would travel out of their way to save as little as five cents per gallon. So while these delivery sites may get trial users, it will be very difficult to keep them without competitive prices.”
Neither Lucas nor Aubuchon see the market for on-demand fuel delivery getting overly crowded anytime soon. “This is very new, and the market and demand will always dictate who your competitors are,” Lucas said. “My goal is not to put gas stations out of business, but to provide a service that some people will want to use. God first, then family, then our business and careers. It’s an order that has served us well over the years.”
Sarah Hamaker is a freelance writer and NACS Daily and NACS Magazine contributor based in Fairfax, Virginia. Visit her online at www.sarahhamaker.com.