To meet the needs of their customers, gas stations have expanded their product offerings to include food, personal care items, lottery tickets, OTC medications, and more. It’s not surprising that roughly 65% of car washes are situated within gas stations, given the convenience of having so many services in one place.
Here’s why adding a car wash to your gas station is a wise investment.
AN EXPANDED REVENUE STREAM
A gas station car wash can be a lucrative side business if you’re already in the automotive maintenance industry. There are many things that affect how much money a car wash makes, but in general, smaller self-service washes make $41,000 a year, while larger luxury washes make $686,250 a year.
When you add a car wash to your gas station, you increase your chances of making a profit. Car wash profits will supplement those from your gas station and convenience store, reducing your reliance on those two sources of income.
MINIMAL MAINTENANCE
Even though every car wash needs routine maintenance to make sure that all of its systems and parts are working, you don’t have to do much more than that, especially if you set up a self-serve area.
Self-service car washes are convenient for customers and easy for business owners to maintain. Customers who use self-service car washes clean the exterior of their vehicles by hand with a wand and other equipment. You could even install a coin-operated vacuum cleaner for their vehicles. In either case, the car wash at your gas station will essentially take care of itself, freeing you to focus on other aspects of your company while still bringing in additional revenue.
EXPANDED CLIENTELE
Offering a car wash at your gas station is a great way to keep your current customers happy, and it could even attract new ones. Introducing a car wash to your gas station is great for both drawing in new customers and keeping your current clientele happy.
Having a car wash right next to your gas station is a surefire way to increase foot traffic and loyalty. If you have a car wash LPR system, customers can quickly and easily pass through the car wash, making your gas station their new favorite choice. Customers who bring their vehicles to your car wash may also purchase refreshments or fill up their gas tanks at your convenience store. Everyone wins!
VALUABLE EXPANSION
These days, car washes are a necessity for anyone who values their time and wants a spotless vehicle with minimal effort. And in a culture that places a premium on multitasking, adding a car wash to your gas station provides even more value to your customers by enabling them to complete a variety of tasks in a single location, which is an advantage in a society like ours. Not to mention that customers are more likely to use a gas station if it has more amenities.
Customers will be more likely to stop by if they know they can fill up on gas, buy snacks, and clean their cars in the same convenient location. Your company’s bottom line will continue to benefit from this value expansion.
