UPDATE: Gasport is no longer available as of June 19, 2019.
The cost of refueling vehicles is the third largest expense for the average household according to Spain’s National Institute of Statistics, and the Corporation for Strategic Reserves of Petroleum Products estimates the total addressable market in Spain is worth 33.6€ billion. As the price at the pump has grown 40% since 2016, families are increasingly looking for ways to save on their overall transportation expenses. Alternatives include switching to public transportation, carpooling, car sharing and carefully searching for the best prices. But for many households these options are not realistic due to their location of residence, schools or place of business.
Since 2007, the retail service station sector has experienced dramatic changes, resulting in a decrease of 33% in the volume of liters sold per service station. This is due in part to a significant increase in competition, as 2,500 new stations have appeared to help us refuel and when new legislation was approved in 2013 promoting competition. Notwithstanding, the market remains highly fragmented: Approximately 30% of the stations are responsible for 70% of total sales per a recent industry study by sector expert Francesc Ribas. In the last 5 years Spain has also seen an explosion in the number of low-cost gas stations (with a new one opening each day), comprising over 2,000 independent dealers in a market valued at roughly 7.4€ billion, the top 10 of whom control roughly 23% of the low-cost segment.
With increased competition, the major brands have resorted to implementing solutions to increase client fidelity. These include ways to expedite and improve the overall refueling experience, although these primarily come in the form of mobile payment platforms such as Repsol Waylet, Cepsa Pay, Ballenoil EasyFuel, Smartfuel and Automatric. Clients seem to have mixed feedback on these efforts and these initiatives have largely not been successful.
One approach, however, that does seem to be gaining traction is the use of price comparison tools. According to Ribas, “Efforts by service station operators to improve customer loyalty have failed mostly due to an inherent conflict of interest. Consumers seek ways to reduce the cost of refueling while petrol stations are seeking ways to increase sales.”
Gimmicks attracting customers to pay with their smartphones may be interesting, but they do not solve the customers’ real problem: minimizing fuel expenses. Ribas conducted a survey of daily drivers in Catalunya and found that over 83% used their vehicles to drive to work and that these cars were refueled every 11 days. Furthermore, a 2016 survey by Rastreator determined that 52% of drivers would go out of their way to refuel at a station nearby with lower prices.
To better address the critical problem of rising prices, Ribas launched Gasport, an app that combines geolocation and web trawling technology for drivers to compare and find the best prices and brands of nearby service stations, as well as take advantage of exclusive promotions offered by gas stations in Gasport’s network.
Ribas, an ESADE educated entrepreneur who has received mentoring by Founder Institute, explains, “This solution elegantly provides consumers with the best prices for refueling while helping service station operators acquire new customers and increase loyalty among existing ones by better serving the needs of their drivers.”
Gasport is currently piloting its promotions platform at six gas stations around Barcelona and hopes to roll it out soon for general use, and Ribas adds that “Using Gasport the average household may save up to 350€ per year on their gas bill as well as receive exclusive offers from their favorite service stations.”
Gasport is available on both Android and iPhone smartphones.