An evaluation of pump-level service as a locational variable within Canada\u27s retail gasoline industry

Marketers who are searching for prime retail locations for gasoline outlets, and other automobile-oriented activities, in today’s market are faced with an increasingly complex process. As land and development costs escalate, competition increases and margins are tightened, there is a greater need for marketers within the retail gasoline industry to pinpoint sites that offer the best profit potential (Gilbart, 1994). In turn, large gasoline chains attempt to develop networks of stations that optimize market coverage and consumer convenience while minimizing costs. In response to the evolution of an increasingly dynamic marketplace, experts within the retail gasoline industry have invested a great deal of time and money researching the key factors for station success. Traditional location analysis has involved the use of variables such as traffic volume and the number of trade area households to evaluate locations within the marketplace. While such variables are still essential, modern marketers must now consider a much wider range of locational factors which affect the success or failure of individual sites and/or aggregate networks