The car wash as the third pillar of profitability

Building customers for the car wash

Brent Morris, president and owner of Lethbridge, Alta.–based Gas King, says the five car wash operations among its seven fuel retail and convenience store sites allow the company to be a “one‑stop shop” for its customers.

He says Gas King customers are particularly vigilant about keeping their vehicles clean and often begin by only using the car wash. They can choose either a self‐service wash or a touchless automatic wash. Regardless of the option, the wash quality is high, and customers are encouraged to join the Gas King loyalty program, King Card Rewards.

Morris adds that the loyalty program offers points for fuel and store purchases, which incentivizes vehicle owners to later purchase fuel and pick up something from the convenience store. “We find we have customers who at first came just to use the wash to keep their cars clean, sometimes coming in a few times a week,” he continues. “They quickly move to buying gas from us, and when they are buying a car wash and gas, they think, ‘Well, since I’m here, I should go in and buy a meal and take something with me.’”

He adds that Gas King stores also carry a wide range of car accessories—window cleaners, tire cleaners, air fresheners, waxes, cleaning kits and Armour All—all contributing to Gas King’s growing reputation as a provider of high‐quality vehicle washes.

“Customers using the car wash—whether it’s rollover, tunnel or wand—are typically more engaged with maintaining their vehicle. They’re more likely to buy fuel, pick up car care products, top up washer fluid or oil, check tires and grab a coffee or snack,” says Linda Thompson, managing partner at Fuel Partners, a provider of fuel solutions to independent dealers and the retail commercial development sector.

“Subscription programs take that further by bringing those customers back multiple times per month, which drives repeat store visits and higher overall spend,” she adds. “You’re attracting a customer with disposable income who values convenience. They’re maintaining their vehicle proactively, not doing it at home, and that typically means more site visits and stronger in‑store sales.”

Fuel retailers with convenience stores have realized that a car wash is now a key part of their retail offering; and a high‑quality wash is becoming a growing differentiator in today’s competitive fuel and convenience market.

“Petro‑Canada has the largest car wash network in Canada, operating more than 260 car washes nationwide across our more than 1,700 retail stations,” says Katarina Popovic, senior marketing advisor of car wash with Petro‑Canada, a Suncor business.

“Every car wash location is integrated with a site that offers fuel, a convenience store and a quick‑service restaurant—none are stand‑alone. We’ve learned our customers appreciate a ‘full‑offer’ site where they can fill up or charge up, grab a bite to eat, get a car wash and pop into a convenience store all in one stop. That’s why over the last few years, we’ve invested in significant renovations and enhancements to Petro‑Canada stations across the country to provide the amenities and services our customers want and need.”

Petro‑Canada offers both its Glide Wash and touchless SuperWash sites, plus a complimentary vacuum with top wash tickets, Wash & Go cards and Season Pass, Popovic adds.

“Wherever they drive from coast to coast, we know customers want a consistent, fast, high‑quality wash that delivers great value,” she says.

Driving customer loyalty along with c‑store and fuel sales

Philippe Grondin, principal director of merchandising with Harnois Énergies—which operates 63 car wash locations under its Proxi banner in Quebec, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces—says having a car wash on site “allows us to offer a more complete service offering for our customers. It also drives incremental fuel and convenience store sales.” Grondin adds that since 2021, Harnois Énergies has worked to use its car washes to drive more customers into the wash, into Proxi convenience stores and to the fuel pumps, especially through its loyalty program.

“Our promotional efforts were fairly static until 2021,” he explains. “When we invested more energy in car washes, we more than doubled the number of washes sold, along with an increase of over 16% in average price.”

The loyalty program and new promotional campaigns tying the car wash to fuel savings and in‐store offers now result in some 40% of car wash customers purchasing fuel, and 12% entering the Proxi convenience store.

Grondin says that this year, he hopes to increase the percentage entering the convenience stores with new promotions and offerings. He points to enhanced beverage and food options now avail- able at Proxi locations, from an upgraded coffee program “to our central kitchen where we are making a range of new fresh foods to have at our sites on offer to customers.”

Ultimately, the success stories of national and regional operators confirm that the car wash has evolved from a simple add-on to a critical third pillar of profitability, successfully driving customer loyalty and higher overall spend.