As BP opens its first retail site in Europe where it’s replaced fuel pumps with electric vehicle (EV) chargers, Retail Week visits its Hammersmith forecourt to find out more about the offering and how this will drive future rollouts.
Once known as a place for travellers to top up fuel and grab a sausage roll, BP has been on a mission of late to transform its forecourt experience.
The company has been busy filling senior roles with those in the retail industry to bolster its food and convenience offer, as David Phillpot has recently taken on the role as vice president of convenience in Europe.
Leading convenience and partnerships comes second nature to Phillpot, as he spent over 25 years with one of BP’s partners – Marks and Spencer. His focus is now on evolving BP’s offer across the UK and Europe.
“Gone are the days of BP just selling Red Bull, chewing gum and things as an add on,” Phillpot explains.
“We’re now leading with our convenience offer and that’s what’s going to make people visit. They come for convenience and then they use our EV solutions, so we’re creating that differentiation from others.”
The new site is equipped with a food-for-now offer with a range of coffees and made-to-order breakfasts and lunches, as well as popular items from Wild Bean Cafe and its M&S partnership.
There’s even some seating by the window to cater to those who are using the EV chargers and want to have lunch or work from the site.
Mission-based customers
For Phillpot, he says it’s important that BP is able to cater to all types of customers, whether they’re visiting for fuel, EV chargers, or to shop.
“In the UK, over half our transactions in the store are shop-only and we’re being used as a local convenience store,” he says.
“Having those food and retail partnerships helps differentiate our offer, and it brings an expertise that BP didn’t have before.”
One advantage BP has is its opening hours, as it tends to see a peak in Sunday sales once supermarkets shut.
It is also adapting to electric vehicles becoming more common, as 55% of BP’s UK portfolio now has EV charging points.
“We’re going for fast chargers because that’s what the customer wants,”
“We also have to be agile, and learn and evolve the offer as we go. Our biggest challenge is that we don’t know how electric vehicles will evolve, but have a pretty good view.
“What we do know is that a traditional fuel customer spends six to eight minutes on site, while an EV customer spends 26 minutes on site.”
The longer dwell time means BP has seen double-digit growth in its food-for-now service, with Phillpot adding this is why BP is “much more convenience-led” now.
Priorities and plans
Beyond the UK, Phillpot looks after BP’s locations across Europe and says there are different plans for different markets.
In Poland, the priority is rolling out another 12 stores with retail partner Auchan, while adding this partnership to 96 existing stores.
In Germany, BP has launched its first unstaffed, AI-driven store in partnership with supermarket Rewe, mainly focusing on EV charging and a small convenience offer.
Plans for the UK centre around value, as Phillpot says this entails both “price and quality”.
“Between January and April, we’re going to be investing in over 250 branded lines where we’re going to bring the price down,” he says.
“These are the customers’ favorite brands – Coke, Cadbury’s, Haribo, Ben and Jerry’s, and that’s where we’ve decided we need to be sharper on value.
“People are using us more as a convenience store, and while they are prepared to pay a premium for location and on-the-go, we want to get that balance right.”
The main thing across all markets however, is refreshing stores across the UK and Europe with the food-for-now offer, strengthening retail partnerships, and growing its portfolio.
As customers are now turning to BP for shopping and EV charging, getting ahead of the curve and transforming its offer should help it become the king of convenience.
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