Top 20 tips for petrol station design

Davis: design tips

David Davis, partner at London-based design agency, Minale Tattersfield & Partners, presented his top tips for effective petrol station design at the recent Insight/NACS Global Convenience Benchmarks event in Dublin.

They are:

1. Maximise the opportunity for all additional revenue generation on the forecourt

2. Introduce green win-win initiatives such as recycling areas

3. Discover more insights about consumers’ shopping habits

4. Be mindful of a more nutritionally- and taste-aware consumer with regard to food products and labeling

5. Consider adding traditional favourite local foods to your menu

6. Focus on details such as clean toilets/bathrooms

7. Bring back in-store theatre such as baristas to serve coffee

8. Remember more subliminal messages such as the smell of baking bread

9. Let the colour and drama of products sing such as displays of fresh flowers and fruit

10. Consider new vehicle-friendly “on the move” packaging formats that fit in dashboard cup holders

11. Consider developing your own coffee brand rather than being a franchisee

12. Consider more minimal and biodegradable packaging

13. Innovate with display units such as Walls’ layered ice cream fridges

14. Use low energy light fittings and ensure well-lit product

15. Consider additional non-traditional channels of communication eg viral and online

16. Consider revenue-generating Plasma/LCD monitors in strategic locations

17. Optimise the layout and consider larger c-stores where appropriate

18. Investigate new formats such as stand-alone or shop-in-shop farm shop

19. Innovate/sell from islands for heavy items such as water on the forecourt

20. Consider an enhanced car care (car/jet wash, repair/oil change) with the likelihood of longer car ownership cycles

And, observe how industry leaders operate but don’t be afraid to innovate and buck trends.