Gasoline delivery seeks to join the on-demand economy

For some consumers, the idea of ​​ordering groceries online for same-day delivery by the store wouldn’t even have crossed their minds two years ago. But after months of a global pandemic that accelerated digital adoption and other trends, shopping for same-day delivery in online marketplaces has become second nature.

Mike McConnell, CEO of mobile fuel company EzFill, said, however, that while grocery shopping, shopping, transportation and other daily activities have moved to an on-demand format through platforms such As DoorDash and Instacart, getting gas in the car has been running late when it is also an activity that consumers do every day.

“The on-demand platform immediately gave the customer two different ways to do something that was truly routine, everyday things that they had no choice in before,†said McConnell. “And then it accelerated quickly and quickly became a standard for a lot of people.”

PYMNTS research, conducted in collaboration with Fiserv’s Carat, found that 64% of all consumers buy more retail items online now than before March 2020; 58% are ordering more food online and 46% are buying groceries digitally more often than before the pandemic. In addition, 27% of consumers buy products online that are delivered by the store or a local delivery service more often than 18 months ago.

Read more: Bring It On Me Economy Grows As Consumers Embrace Home-Centered Lifestyles

Refueling, McConnell said, could be the next big consumable domino to plummet, especially as real estate prices continue to rise and cities seek more aesthetic uses for sites. In March, Petaluma, Calif., Became the first city in the United States to ban the construction of new gas stations, with several others considering similar restrictions.

“You don’t hear a lot of people saying they love to go to the gas station,†McConnell said. “So when you come up with a possible alternative, they get it pretty well. “

Last month, EzFill raised nearly $ 29 million through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which McConnell says will be used to drive the company’s long-term growth plans. The company currently operates only in the Miami area, but intends to expand to several other Florida cities soon, including Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale, and is targeting Atlanta; Nashville; New York City; Charleston, South Carolina; and the greater Washington, DC area.

“I’m looking at this concept to really become a billion dollar business at the end of the day,†McConnell said. “That’s the long-term view of it – how we can get there and how we can grow as quickly as possible.”

Digital payments

EzFill manages its refueling operations in three different verticals: retail consumer refueling; fleet refueling for businesses; and specialty, which in the company’s hometown of Miami means marine refueling.

“As this begins to grow and on demand, mobile refueling continues to grow, we hope to be able to leverage it as part of our growth strategy and build on it in the years to come,†said McConnell.

Even on the B2B side, McConnell said very few people write checks to pay their bills – most transactions for refueling the fleet are done digitally. For consumers, he said, most payments are made by credit card.

“A big part of technology is efficiency,†McConnell said. “As you continue to grow, when you take a look at your business and look at different things, using technology from an efficiency perspective is an important part of not just our business strategy. , but I’m sure many trading strategies like you go ahead. “

The advantages of convenience

McConnell said he has had conversations with management of several companies, office parks and residential property operators who are also interested in providing the EzFill service as a benefit to employees and tenants.

“This is just another feature they could offer as part of the accommodation or services they provide to their employees or where people live,†he said.

McConnell added that for operators like EzFill and employers looking to keep employees happy, it will be an ongoing evolution to find other ways to make people’s lives more convenient.

“The customer paying a convenience charge or a delivery charge or that sort of thing, it’s kind of normal and acceptable,†he said. “They understand what it is, what they’re paying for and what it’s worth. So I think in the whole industry we will just continue to grow more and more with different products and services as they become available.