Led by Buc-ees, Dolly Parton, America’s gas stations go mega-size

As the Fourth of July holiday approaches and Americans head to the beach, the mountains, or somewhere in between, they’ll probably see something they wouldn’t have seen just a few years ago: a mega gas station.

Gas stations have been reinventing themselves over the past decade with food offerings that rival many established food-only chains. But now they are doing something else: they are growing physically and attracting a lot of fans along the way.

Buc-ee’s is the heavyweight of the growing gas station phenomenon, with more than 50 locations in 13 states.

Sally McQuinn traveled from her home near Roanoke, Virginia, to Dayton, Ohio, to celebrate the opening of the company’s first Ohio location. “I’m definitely a super fan of the Bucs,” McQuinn said, using a familiar nickname from an old friend. He added that he took a photo with the owner of the chain who visited the Dayton opening.

On a recent summer evening at the Dayton Buc-ee’s, nearly all of the station’s 120 pumps were full, but the real action was happening in the store. Employees there chant “Breast on the Booooard” every time fresh brisket is carried to the carving station. Customers are snapping up brisket sandwiches, three-meat sandwiches and everything else. The largest Buc-ee’s in Texas has an area of ​​over 75,000 square feet. By comparison, gas stations like Sheetz and Wawa are typically around 7,000 square feet. A low-end Walmart comes in at about 150,000 square feet.

“The traditional gas station is evolving from a transactional stop for fuel into a rapidly expanding, multi-faceted retail and travel destination. This evolution is being driven primarily by very low profit margins on gasoline, forcing operators to use fuel as a loss leader to attract customers to higher-margin convenience stores and food services,” said Sudip Mazumder, senior vice president, North American retail industry leader at Publicis Sapient, a digital business transformation and marketing consultancy. he said.

Other factors fueling this growth include changing consumer expectations for cleaner, more experiential stops, the need to adapt to electric vehicles that require longer charging times, and the long-standing need to comprehensively serve professional truckers.

Gas stations are growing in size and have been turning into all-in-one travel hubs for some time now. But Buc-ee’s arrival amplified the trend and spawned imitators like Wally’s, which has three 50,000-square-foot locations in the Midwest and plans for more. Stores with a Midwestern flair feature amenities like popcorn bars and jerky selections that rival Buc-ee’s.

Whether intentional or not, these stores tap into the nostalgia associated with the traditional family road trip adventure by providing a pause beyond just gassing up and going, says Tom Seng, professor of professional practice at Texas Christian University. And since millions of Americans still vacation on the road, the interstate system is a perfect place for them.

“These stores have become destinations in themselves for some people,” Seng said.

Locals can also use it as a de facto grocery store or fuel stop, he noted. “I know there will be a lot of gas pumps because I’ve been to Buc-ee’s many times myself, so I shouldn’t wait long. The restrooms will be clean and there will be a variety of food,” Seng said, noting that the barbecue and various roasted nuts offer tempting aromas once inside.

There are much higher margins for companies on food and souvenir sales than on gasoline.

“Buc-ee’s doesn’t advertise gas prices like its competitors, but it’s more of a service to attract customers inside,” Seng said.

And now there’s Dolly’s, where gas seems almost an afterthought — just 16 pumps on the 25,000-square-foot, 18-acre behemoth, which includes a dog park, a theater, restaurant and bar, trucker showers and lounge. But after the grand opening of the first Dolly’s in Cornersville, Tennessee last week, look for more and larger Dolly’s locations; that even brought out the establishment’s namesake, who took a light-hearted jab at Buc-ee’s while cutting the ribbon.

“Initially, we are focusing on making the flagship location in Cornersville the best it can be. The plan is to open locations across the country in a deliberate and measured manner,” said Gregory H. Sachs, partner of Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop. Sachs said Parton and her team were involved in every aspect of creating the travel stop.

Elizabeth Lafontaine, director of research at location analytics firm Placer.ai, said the latest mega-offers are a natural progression in the segment, one that surpasses its own category name.

“The grocery channel has moved beyond its name in many ways to become a full-service one-stop shop for consumers,” Lafontaine said. “As the lines between convenience stores, convenience stores (c-stores), and quick-service restaurants blur, grocery chains have effectively changed shoppers’ perceptions and become must-visit destinations as a special stop on a typical weekday or holiday,” Lafontaine said. he said.

Placer.ai’s data shows shoppers spend more time in-store at chains that focus on prepared foods or unique offerings; Buc-ee’s sees the longest wait time of any c-store chain, roughly twice that of the closest competitor.

Average waiting time in grocery chains (in minutes)

• Buc-ee’s: 20.8
• Ava: 11.7
• Sheetz: 11.7
• 7-Eleven: 9.8
• Flat K: 9.3
• Casey’s Market: 8.7
• Cumberland Farms: 8.5

Source: Placer.ai

Lafontaine said the definition of the category has expanded as various c-store formats have emerged and become popular.

“Social media has played a key role in bringing regional offerings to the national stage, pushing all chains to look more closely at what resonates with consumers,” he said.

Growth comes with various growing pains.

As convenience store formats occupy the space of grocery stores and superstores in both size and assortment, chains need to consider how to maximize their popularity without creating undue additional competition.

“Larger-format chains like Buc-ee’s have successfully added mainstream products and private label products (which make up about 50% of the store base), which are often as popular with shoppers as prepared foods. But this strategy may be limited to the c-store model and not necessarily indicative of how other chains plan to compete for consumer attention,” Lafontaine said. he said.

Buc-ee’s manages to get its customers to stay in its stores longer; Dolly’s and Wally’s are trying to emulate this, too. Dolly’s entertainment options will especially increase the “stickiness” of accommodation. For example, upcoming events include a story time in the auditorium from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Success is less about size and more about zeitgeist, says Marbue Brown, CEO and founder of customer experience consulting firm Customer Obsession Advantage. “They need to have that kind of Cabbage Patch appeal so people who stop by will feel like they have to have it. These are not aspects of the Buc-ee experience that these competitors need to emulate,” Brown said. “Buc-ee’s has nailed it. … people want to buy a T-shirt that tells the world they’re there,” Brown said.

There is a square meter limit.

“While these stores can grow remarkably large, physical expansion faces practical limits in terms of land availability, zoning and operational complexity, suggesting that future growth may prioritize optimizing services and space over large square footage,” Mazumder said.

The mega-sized convenience store-gas station may actually be reaching its upper limit.

Because these stores are designed to serve interstate travelers, they are not located in major urban areas, opting instead for more rural settings along the highway. “This benefits small towns connected to our interstate system. Buc-ee seems to be setting the standard for now, but I don’t see the development of stores being any greater than what they have now,” Seng said.

Dolly’s says it focuses on offering a place that feels like home. “In general, bigger is not always better,” Sachs said. “So there will be a maximum dimension where the feeling of ‘home’ disappears. We haven’t figured out exactly what this dimension is yet,” he said.

Ultimately, according to Brown, all the brisket, candy, beef jerky, and kitsch highway trinkets may not be as important as one aspect of the experience that all chains need to realize: “People love Buc-ee’s for the one thing that makes people stop more than anything else: clean bathrooms.”

“The idea is that spotless facilities make people feel comfortable. If they’re comfortable using the bathroom, they’ll feel comfortable eating there and spending more money. If the bathrooms aren’t clean, we won’t eat there,” he said.