Service Station Retailing in France 2011

Based on Verdict Retail's proprietary market data and insight into key fuel retailers, this brief provides you with an up-to-date picture of the fuel retailing market in France. In addition to outlining service station numbers, fuel sales, competitor shares, and fuel and site forecasts, it also details retailers' c-store, car wash, and unmanned site numbers with an overview of their product offerings.

• Benchmark your service station retail offer against the major national players in the sector by examining their number of sites, shops and car washes.
• Develop new marketing ideas for your service station shop, car wash, and card propositions by examining the activities of other players across France.
• Make informed pitches to potential partners by gaining insights into the major retailers’ networks, market shares, fuel throughputs, and future plans.
• Assess overall market entry potential by accessing key market indicators including registered cars, national fuel volumes, and average prices.

The total number of service stations in France declined by 3.8% to 12,051 sites in the year to January 2011. TOTAL has the largest service station network in France, followed by Intermarché and Carrefour. In 2011, TOTAL launched a new service station brand, TOTAL Access, to offer low fuel prices combined with premium fuels and other services.

Total fuel volumes sold through service stations in France increased by 1.0% in 2010 on the back of increased diesel sales, as petrol sales declined by 6.5%. Supermarkets dominate the service station market in France, with Carrefour, Intermarché, Système U, and Leclerc combined commanding a total volume share of 33.2%.

In France, a shop is present at 31.3% of service stations, giving it a much lower penetration than some its neighbouring markets. The number of sites with car wash facilities is relatively low in France, with car washes available at only a fifth of all service stations.

• Who are the top five players in the French service station retail market and how many sites, shops, and car washes do they have?
• What is the market share and average fuel throughput per site of the top five players in France?
• How is the service station network evolving and which players are opening new outlets, as well as increasing forecourt shops and car washes?
• What strategies do the key players have across their fuel and non-fuel offerings in terms of products sold, branding, partnerships and suppliers used?

Table of contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
•Verdict Retail view
•Key findings
•Main conclusions
Persisting economic fear has led to a declining market
The slowdown in the housing market continues
Waiting for the next big thing
A loyalty mountain too high to climb
Shopping around has become the standard
Supermarkets are on the back foot for a change
•Retailer highlights
Amazon has shown that high ambition can bring big results
Argos is in need of new ideas to halt its decline
Asda proves that supermarkets are not good at selling everything
Comet remains the second choice specialist
Currys needs to build loyalty to maintain its lead in the long term
John Lewis highlights the importance of a great shopping experience
Tesco’s cut-price strategy needs to be backed up by quality

SECTOR SUMMARY
•Share of shoppers
The electricals market's share of shoppers has declined for a third consecutive year
•Penetration of electricals shoppers
Middle aged, wealthy men continue to dominate
•Retailer usage
Amazon is on the charge, as Currys remains the benchmark
Main user share by region
•Conversion rates
Shoppers are less inclined to state their loyalty
•Shopping around
Shopping around is at a five-year high
•Loyalty
Loyalty has slipped, but remains buoyant
•Drivers of loyalty / disloyalty
The beginnings of a shift in emphasis to shop environment factors

AMAZON
•Amazon's main user share has continued growing, aided by youthful enthusiasm
Amazon has overtaken Tesco…
… by taking advantage of growth in the 16–24 age range
Price-sensitive customers
Complete shopping experience
•Visitors
Amazon has made the highest share gain among the profiled retailers
•Main users
•Conversion rates
Amazon is second only to John Lewis in terms of conversion rate
•Loyalty
Amazon has recorded its third consecutive year of growth
•Competitors
Shopping around continues its steady decline among Amazon main users

ARGOS
•Argos's business model is losing its appeal
Lacking new ideas
Argos is losing traction in terms of converting customers
Despite a decline, Argos's share of main users is still comparatively high
Change is on the way
•Visitors
Argos's over-exposure to young, less affluent shoppers is the main contributor to its decline
•Main users
The retailer has recorded a second consecutive year of decline in terms of main user numbers
•Conversion rates
Conversion is falling, but Argos is still in the top three
•Loyalty
Big fall reflects sentiment towards retailer
•Competitors
Shopping around is in line with average

ASDA
•Asda' s low prices are failing to win loyalty
Loyalty has fallen back after making gains
Asda has experienced much-needed electricals integration
Asda should learn from the failure of Best Buy in the UK
Information is key
•Visitors
The appeal of the supermarkets has declined
•Main users
Asda's loss of main users places it last out of the retailers profiled
•Conversion rates
Recording the lowest conversion rate reflects Asda's poor customer targeting
•Loyalty
Asda's customer loyalty has crashed
•Competitors
Shopping around among Asda's main users is below average

COMET
•Property market stagnation has hit Comet the hardest
Comet's main user share has fallen, as its reliance on big purchases continues to hurt
Comet cannot afford to wait until the property market returns to health
Comet's range has become a major problem
New owners need to regain loyalty, and fast
•Visitors
A slight gain has strengthened Comet's runner-up position
•Main users
Comet has recorded its fifth consecutive year of decline
•Conversion rates
Comet's declining conversion rate has seen the gap between its biggest rivals widen
•Loyalty
Comet's biggest fall in loyalty to date has resulted in its lowest ranking position
•Competitors
Comet has matched the sector average in terms of main users shopping around

CURRYS
•Currys needs loyal shoppers to maintain its strong performance
Specialization is key to Currys' success
Younger shoppers are attracted to Currys' format
Greater loyalty is required for Currys to continue its leading role
Currys should offer a better store experience to lift its conversion rate
•Visitors
Currys shows signs of recovery of visitor share
•Main users
Despite recording a decline in main user share, Currys remains the benchmark
•Conversion rates
The fall in Currys' conversion rate reflects the average decline
•Loyalty
Achieving a mid-range ranking in terms of loyalty should be Currys' main target for improvement
•Competitors
A third year of decline in terms of shopping around pushes Currys further below average

JOHN LEWIS
•John Lewis has potential to broaden its appeal
The retailer has been building its core customer base
John Lewis's quality is backed up by competitive pricing
A lack of range and convenience is limiting John Lewis's growth in electricals
Potential gains support John Lewis's current methods
•Visitors
John Lewis's strong performance is backed by the shopping experience it offers
•Main users
John Lewis is one of only two retailers to show growth
•Conversion rates
Despite slipping for a third consecutive year, John Lewis remains on top in terms of customer conversion
•Loyalty
John Lewis has the highest loyalty rating
•Competitors
An increase reflects consumers' growing propensity to shop around

TESCO
•Tesco's lower prices need to be backed up by quality
Tesco has lost out to Amazon
Tesco's supermarket format attracts middle income shoppers
Tesco's quality is not shining through
One concise message
•Visitors
Tesco's low-price strategy continues to strike a note with shoppers
•Main users
A slight fall in main user share has resulted in Amazon overtaking Tesco
•Conversion rates
A big decline has reversed Tesco's strong 2011 results
•Loyalty
The resilient loyalty of Tesco's main users leaves it just behind Amazon and John Lewis
•Competitors
Tesco has recorded the lowest shopping around figure among all of the profiled retailers

APPENDIX
•Methodology
Selection of parliamentary constituencies
Selection of enumeration districts
Selection of respondents
Post survey weighting
•Ask the analyst
•Global Retail FreeView
•Verdict Retail Research consulting
•Disclaimer

TABLES
•Table: Profile of electricals shoppers – by region
•Table: Percentage of active electricals shoppers regularly using each retailer, 2008–12
•Table: Percentage of active electricals shoppers regularly using each retailer, 2008–12
•Table: Share of active electricals shoppers naming a retailer as their main store (%), by TV region,
•Table: Average rate of conversion from visitor to main user, by TV region,
•Table: Average number of other stores used, by TV region,
•Table: Percentage of electricals shoppers that are loyal to their main store, by TV region,
•Table: Detailed drivers of loyalty,
•Table: Electricals loyalty score, 2008–12
•Table: Electricals loyalty score, 2008–12
•Table: Electricals disloyalty score, 2008–12
•Table: Electricals disloyalty score, 2008–12
•Table: What disloyal users preferred about other electricals stores, 2008–12
•Table: What disloyal users preferred about other electricals stores, 2008–12
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other electricals stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other electricals stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other electricals stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other electricals stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other electricals stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other electricals stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Visitor share by region
•Table: Main user share by region
•Table: Conversion rates by region
•Table: Loyalty by region
•Table: Drivers of loyalty
•Table: Drivers of disloyalty
•Table: Potential changes
•Table: Other electricals stores used 2008–12
•Table: Retailers most used in other sectors
•Table: Sample sizes by sector

FIGURES
•Figure: Electricals share of shoppers 2008–12
•Figure: Profile of electricals shoppers (%) by gender, 2008–12
•Figure: Profile of electricals shoppers (%) by age bracket, 2008–12
•Figure: Profile of electricals shoppers (%) by socioeconomic class, 2008–12
•Figure: Percentage of consumers who shop for electricals, by demographics,
•Figure: Percentage of consumers who shop for electricals, by TV region,
•Figure: Concentration of main user share of top five retailers in
•Figure: Concentration of main user share of top five retailers in
•Figure: Concentration of main user share of top five retailers in
•Figure: Average rate of conversion from visitor to main user (%), 2008–12
•Figure: Rate of conversion from visitor to main user (%), by retailer
•Figure: Average number of other stores used, 2008–12
•Figure: Average number of other stores used, by retailer,
•Figure: Percentage of electricals shoppers that are loyal to their main store, 2008–12
•Figure: Percentage of electricals shoppers that are loyal to their main store, by demographic group,
•Figure: Percentage of electricals shoppers that are loyal to their main store, by retailer,
•Figure: Percentage point change in loyalty rates since last year, by retailer,
•Figure: Percentage of loyal main users identifying drivers of loyalty, 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around 2009–12
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around
•Figure: Visitor share 2008–12
•Figure: Visitor share by demographic group
•Figure: Main user share 2008–12
•Figure: Main user share by demographic group
•Figure: Conversion rates 2008–12
•Figure: Conversion rates by demographic group
•Figure: Loyalty 2008–12
•Figure: Loyalty by demographic group
•Figure: Preference stores
•Figure: Shopping around 2012

Related research categories

By sector: Retail (in Off-trade)

By market: France (in Europe)