That was the clarion call at the Convenience Leaders’ Exchange held in Sandton last week, hosted by the Fuel Retailers’ Association in partnership with the international National Association of Convenience Stores, headquartered in the USA and attended by senior retail leaders from the fuel and retail convenience sectors.

This was just ahead of the June adjustment of fuel prices based on current local and international factors with effect from the 3^rd June 2026. With the global energy market in disarray, those that suffer are both the consumer that has to pay the higher price for not only fuel but also the knock-on economic effects of price hikes - as well as the businesses that are also impacted by this volatility. 

“In the light of this upheaval, it has become crucial that the fuel retail industry stands together, consolidates and plots a way forward” says Reggie Sibiya, CEO of the Fuel Retailers Association that represent over half of the 4 600 fuel retailers in South Africa.  “With fuel prices under strain due to the global energy crisis, with local margins reducing as fuel prices sky rocket, coupled with illegal trading, statutory levies, Road Accident Fund contributions and high credit card/reward costs, the challenges become those of sustainability and profitability for the fuel retailer.”

The collaboration with the international National Association of Convenience Stores started in 2019 with one of its main purposes to tap into the international arena to see how fuel retailers would be adapting to the EV revolution that, though still years away, would eventually hit South Africa.  Reggie Sibiya, CEO of FRA remembers the days when the focus then was on cars and how we needed to prepare to convert to battery charging points to keep up with the transition to EV.  Our European counterparts advised us...  ”if you’re not going to lead, you better be prepared to be a fast follower.”

The trajectory since 2019 took a bit of a curve ball as Covid-19 hit in 2020 and in subsequent years the challenges overshadowed electric cars and forecourt profits to concentrate on load shedding and the expenses associated with keeping the lights on, attracting customers and turning a profit.  Whilst those challenges set South Africa back a number of years in terms of introducing the electric car into the market, a unique shift was taking place in the convenience retail space as retail convenience sales are fast making up almost half of the forecourt’s turnover.

Tipping the Scale between Fuel and Convenience Retail

Two key research findings were presented on the retail landscape and more specifically on the convenience side of the fuel retailers’ business – which showed that the scales are tipping in the fuel to convenience ratio – with convenience, QSR & FMCG contributing 46% of all sales in the retail forecourt space valued at R42 billion.

South African forecourts are operating in a highly pressured, value-driven market, where success depends on:  Winning on price + promotions; Serving convenience-led missions effectively; and Adapting to reduced brand loyalty and increased switching.

According to Nicola Allen of Trade Intelligence who conducted the survey on behalf of Nedbank,  this means that 46% of customers are not buying fuel – but other things in a forecourt – from QSR to FMCG and other services.  “Convenience retailers must recognise the opportunities that this opens up and move beyond fuel to create smart inclusive lifestyle destinations in their forecourts.”

A market and consumer survey conducted by NielsenIQ further cemented the shifts in consumer spending based on shifting needs – and their convenience retail in fuel forecourts scored highly in the ‘use on-the-go’, ‘emergency need’ , ‘everyday needs’  and ‘last minute shopper’ categories - incentives that drive convenience store choices. Store expansion, retail partnerships for credibility and increasing shopper missions, loyalty programme benefits with retailers and banks also add to bringing feet to the forecourt.

Becoming a REAL foodservice player

Population densities, household sizes, age distributions are just some of the factors that are driving retail convenience spending.  According to Mark Wohltmann, Director at NACS-Global, “there are very few ‘silver bullets’ because there are so many different fish in the ocean. What people (especially young people) want today, they may not want in the future and the one-size-fits-all doesn’t work anymore.” 

The trend globally is FROM being a c-store with food TO being a restaurant with convenience. PREVIOUS transition was FROM being a gas station with food TO being a food store with fuel.

- Convenience+ where Proximity Retail (take home) remains popular as does Convenience Retail (immediate consumption). 

- Shifting age distributions change at pace as every generation’s trends build on or shatter the next. For example, coffee has gone through a multi-stage transition from the basic coffee pot to speciality coffees to the latest in cold coffees and macha coffees. The same applies to Alcohol sales – a profitable area that could be incorporated locally but with stats showing younger people are not big drinkers - is this a shift, a delay or vanishment?

- Scale and Uniqueness remain the differentiating factors in the growth and success of convenience stores. With convenience retail becoming a destination not just for fuel, South Africa’s fuel companies and convenience retailers must seriously look at expanding their forecourt services to include multi formats and multi brands. There are already some shining examples of forecourts that are setting a high bar to what can be achieved (eg. The Pantry in Rosebank, Johannesburg and Engen in the City Bowl, Cape Town). “At the end of the day, concludes Reggie Sibiya, it is all about the customer, what they want and how to cater to them as effortlessly as possible.  Retail convenience stores in forecourts are fast becoming the go-to destinations for a blend of FMCG, QSR and other services – as a group we need to capitalise on the opportunities this presents.”

AI – Underestimate it in the short term...Overestimate it in the long term

Underpinning these shifting trends is the understanding, development of the AI environment.  The Convenience Leaders’ Exchange held a panel discussion focused on the sector keeping up with the technological age.  Where automation, which is already familiar in the fuel/retail environment follows fixed rules, AI introduces systems that learn over time.  The tech revolution is happening in small increments but then needs to move to the next, more sophisticated operational levels that will free up time, give efficiency and save money.

AI in convenience retail will have the biggest impact in the demand, reporting, price optimisation, quality control, stock analysis to customer preferences - fundamentally having the elasticity to develop  various solutions that criss-cross systems. What all retailers need to understand is that AI will allow them to focus on their customers – who remain at the core of their businesses. 

Are South Africa’s convenience retailers ready to adapt or die?

In the years since 2019, the high level leaders’ exchange with NACS has meant that the FRA and its members would always be one step ahead of the game.  According to Mark Wohltmann, Director, NACS-Global, “whilst every country has its own specific challenges and develops at its own pace with its own uniqueness, the growth and momentum in the convenience retail space is universal and crosses all borders.  We all learn from each other, whether it’s in new QSR offerings and Fresh food services to leveraging real estate to increase income or following the customers’ mood and catering to it. The key is what makes a site different – its offerings... It’s look and feel...  It’s positioning. Without differentiation, it becomes a scale and margin battle.”

The stakeholders that have sponsored and partnered with the FRA to steer the fuel retail space to future success include the oil companies, the FMCG retailers & QSR brands who partner on the forecourts and who will be playing a major role in this global initiative with NACS going forward.  Reggie Sibiya strongly believes that “following international trends is beneficial to South Africa as it has all been done before – you just need to follow the NACS trajectory.” 

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