On 26 Jan 2004 16:23:45 GMT, Brian Elfert wrote:
Tim Douglass writes:

Most of the c-store gas stations actually sell their gas at almost no
profit because they make the money on beer and cigs. The low gas price
is just to get you in the door. Stations that sell gas and do
mechanical work can also keep their prices lower. The ones that only

Why would any c-store add pay at the pump if they make little or no money
on the gas?

I think they do it because customers want it, other gas stations have it,
and they'd lose customer traffic if they didn't have it. (I don't think that
they're making little or no money on gas sales, though.)

Plenty of research has shown that people often buy more than they planned
on, once they get in the store. Customers certainly won't buy anything
extra if they never even set foot in the store.

Just based on my own experiences and observations, even though I always
pay for gas at the pump, *since I'm there*, I may also walk into the store
and pick up something else (quart of milk, loaf of bread, whatever). If I
had to make a *separate trip*, I probably wouldn't buy those things at the
convenience store, but *since I'm there anyway getting gas* I just might.
I also appreciate that pay at the pump means I don't have to stand in a
long line inside the store in order to make my other purchases.

Gary