The traditional view of a forecourt is relatively straightforward: motorists stop to refuel and perhaps purchase a cold drink or snack before continuing their journey.
That description is becoming increasingly outdated.
Today’s forecourt serves multiple shopper missions throughout the day - from commuters looking for coffee and breakfast in the early morning to office workers buying lunch, parents making quick convenience stops, travellers purchasing refreshments and consumers picking up forgotten essentials on the way home.
In effect, the channel is moving closer to mission-led convenience retail.
Directional research conducted by On the Dot across 30 selected high-income forecourts offers an interesting snapshot of this changing environment and, importantly, what it may mean for the businesses supplying the channel.
Perhaps one of the more interesting findings is the value of the transaction taking place beyond fuel.
The study produced an indicative average basket of R282 excluding fuel, based on reported basket-value ranges.
Approximately 50% of reported baskets were valued at R150 or more, while 23% fell within the R500-plus basket band.
Given the study’s limited sample, these figures should not be interpreted as national forecourt benchmarks. They do, however, challenge the assumption that forecourt retail is exclusively a low-value, single-item environment.
The opportunity becomes particularly relevant when retailers and suppliers think in terms of shopper missions and complementary purchases.
Coffee can be paired with breakfast or bakery products.
Energy drinks can sit within a broader snack occasion.
A lunch purchase can include a beverage and confectionery.
A traveller may combine food and refreshments with car-care products and other journey essentials.
The commercial opportunity therefore lies not simply in securing shelf space, but in understanding which products naturally belong together within each shopping occasion.
Convenience demand is strongly influenced by time.
Early morning shoppers may be looking for coffee and breakfast. Mid-morning traffic creates a different snacking opportunity. Lunch introduces food-to-go, while the afternoon commute creates demand around drinks, snacks and quick top-ups.
Evening shoppers may again have a different requirement.
This has implications beyond merchandising.
If consumer demand changes throughout the day, replenishment models may also need to become more responsive to daypart, day of week and predictable trading peaks.
The OTD research highlighted periods such as early mornings, Fridays, Mondays, month-end and pay-day as important demand moments.
The question for suppliers is therefore not simply: Did the product reach the store?
It is: Was the product available before the consumer wanted to buy it?
Forecourt stores operate in an environment where shoppers value speed.
Consumers are unlikely to postpone a coffee, cold drink or snack purchase because their preferred option is unavailable. They simply make another choice - or leave.
This makes availability particularly important.
For suppliers and distributors, success in the channel increasingly depends on capabilities including accurate replenishment, reliable delivery windows, complete orders, freshness management, proof of delivery, promotional execution and the ability to respond quickly when stores require additional stock.
Fresh food and food-to-go add another dimension because availability alone is not sufficient. Products also have to meet the consumer’s expectations around freshness and quality.
This turns logistics from a back-end function into part of the retail experience itself.
The research identified strong activity across categories including coffee and hot beverages, cold drinks, energy drinks, snacks and confectionery, bakery, food-to-go, dairy, tobacco-related categories and selected car-care and travel products.
This variety reflects the role forecourts increasingly play in consumers’ everyday routines.
The shopper arriving for petrol may also be a breakfast shopper.
The commuter may become a coffee customer.
The long-distance traveller may purchase food, beverages and vehicle-related products.
And a local resident may use the forecourt shop as a quick convenience retailer without purchasing fuel at all.
This diversity makes location-level understanding particularly valuable. A forecourt serving commuters may require a different category and replenishment strategy from one positioned on a long-distance route or one surrounded by residential neighbourhoods.
A one-size-fits-all approach to ranging is therefore increasingly difficult to justify.
Another indicator of forecourt evolution is payment readiness.
Within the sites participating in the research, 97% accepted debit cards, 73% accepted tap-to-pay and 77% used integrated payment systems.
Again, these figures relate specifically to the surveyed sites rather than the national market.
Nevertheless, they illustrate an important point: the convenience experience increasingly extends beyond product availability. Consumers expect a transaction that is fast from entry to payment.
The physical retail environment, product assortment, stock availability and payment experience are all becoming interconnected.
For the broader FMCG and retail industries, the lesson from the forecourt channel is not necessarily about one particular product category.
It is about precision.
Retail growth increasingly requires businesses to understand the context surrounding the purchase:
Who is the shopper?
Why have they stopped?
What time are they shopping?
Which products naturally belong within that mission?
And can the supply chain ensure those products are actually available?
For brands, this creates an opportunity to move away from isolated product placement towards solutions built around occasions.
For retailers, it means optimising space and range according to the customers a particular site serves.
For distributors, it requires moving beyond transport and delivery towards better replenishment, timing, merchandising support and demand responsiveness.
The South African forecourt is increasingly sitting at the intersection of mobility, convenience, food-to-go, impulse purchasing and everyday top-up retail.
The businesses that recognise that shift — and organise their categories and supply chains around the consumer mission rather than the fuel transaction — may be best positioned to capture the next stage of growth in the channel.
The findings referenced in this article are drawn from On the Dot Forecourt Research conducted in July 2026 across 30 selected high-income forecourts. Due to the sample size and methodology, findings should be considered directional and not representative of the total South African forecourt market.
For more information on this research please contact az.oc.ctsimehcla@enelad
