Innovation proposal: fuel will be sold online for a fixed price: customers may even lose

We find a way to optimize fuel costs

According to the company’s press release, world oil prices are currently around $ 40 a barrel, but this will not last forever: as the world economy recovers from a pandemic, demand for oil will grow relentlessly and, with it, oil prices. Fuel prices will also rise. Therefore, the company has found a way to optimize consumer fuel costs.

At the Saurida service station electronic store, all drivers, both private and company, can order and buy fuel for next year and pay a fixed price, which will remain unchanged throughout the year.

Everything works like in any online store: it is supposed to be enough to have a computer or a smartphone. The buyer can choose the amount of fuel based on the amount he consumes per year or less if he does not want to invest a larger amount.

The minimum possible volume is 75 liters and the maximum is unlimited. The quantity of fuel purchased can be used within twelve months at any of the 40 service stations in Lithuania. The price of fuel also depends on the quantity chosen, but according to the creators of this service, it is one of the best on the market.

“Customers choose the type and quantity of fuel, place it in the cart, choose the payment method and receive an email indicating that the order was received. In a few hours you receive another email. a letter that can come to sign the contract or use your card, “explains the report.

It offered an innovation in the world and in Lithuania.

Mantvydas Rancas, the commercial manager of Esaurida.lt, says that the buyers who buy fuel online set the price according to the price of the day, and no matter if the prices rise in the market, they will still be waiting for the same price that they ordered. online.

“As far as we know, no service station in Lithuania offers its customers fixed fuel prices throughout the year. We had this idea a long time ago. When we thought that almost all commerce is moving rapidly towards the electronic space, why Didn’t we try to trade fuel online too? We tried and our idea paid off. We were looking for someone else who is doing this in the world, but we couldn’t find something like that, “says M. Rancas.

According to Saurida, fuel prices are currently as low as drivers have long lost sight of. “It is difficult to say whether they will remain like this for a long time, but they will definitely increase in the future, all economists and market analysts agree,” the company said in a statement.

If fuel prices drop, the customer will lose

Vidas Šukys, executive director of the Lithuanian Gas Station Union, says Saurida’s move is risky, as oil and fuel prices fluctuate.

“I saw this ad, but without knowing the marketing gimmick, I can’t comment much. A very drastic move. How will they continue to compensate? Perhaps from your reserves. When the ad was published, oil cost around $ 35, and the price of Fuel was around 85 to 90 cents, and now oil costs $ 42, fuel (diesel) has risen in price by around 5 cents, and continues to rise – this is a big change.

Now I have gone through several service stations: there is already a price increase on billboards, which means that the market is gradually getting back on track. If multiple consumers are fascinated by this innovation, they will practically not experience it. If they admire more, then they will wonder what they will have to do.

If there were a drop in prices, you would win, but the customer may be unsatisfied: if I buy today for the same euro, and in a month it will be 90 cents, then I will say that I will definitely not buy from you, “says the interlocutor. .

If the customer pays the money in advance, then, according to V. Šukis, there is another side to the coin. With the increase in fuel prices, the consumer benefits from this offer, but if the price falls, the customer is likely to lose.

“If you pay in advance, the company has working capital, you can have money and the product is not used.

Once the money is paid, it is the same as buying the product on credit, paying the money, but the reverse is the money first, then the product. If the money is paid, the network risks nothing, but the consumer, who will recover the fuel at the most expensive price possible.

Today, it would be beneficial as the price goes up. When the price drops, the customer pays all year. I personally would not take any risk, “explains the representative of the Lithuanian service station networks.

Call it an attempt to “link” to a customer

According to him, this is an attempt by the company to retain and retain the customer. Still, the interlocutor observes that nobody marketing Cheats are not prohibited and the customer always has the right to choose.

“It just caught our eye then. The customer” connects “to a service station network. If I see an even better fuel price while driving, I won’t be able to make any more decisions. But it’s OK if the customer feels comfortable. Everyone has the right to provide as many services as possible, and a person should choose the one that is most convenient for them ”, considers V. Šukys.

When asked if such a measure would reduce fuel costs for the population, the head of the Lithuanian Gas Station Union points out that, although this is relevant to most drivers, service station networks generally focus on a completely different segment.

“Individuals do not make large purchases for service station networks. The main thing (heavy transport or companies that work with transport) transport goods. People only travel from work to home, from them to the garden, the church and family members.

Of course, relevant to everyone. I know many people who look for a service station throughout the city and buy fuel where it is cheaper. He drives the tank to zero during the day and buys a full tank of fuel, earns about two euros and says he is very satisfied. And while looking, it was for about three euros.

People need to calculate, people do it well, but sometimes that calculation can cost time and fuel while looking for a better offer, ”says V. Šukys.

Other service station networks try to attract customers in several ways.

According to the interlocutor, Saurida has indeed offered an innovation in the market: it has started selling fuel online, but other networks have been trying to attract customers in various ways.

“Other networks offer card discounts when they offer discount cards. The only thing that was tested many years ago and currently operates in some service stations is categorical cash payment. A network in Lithuania does not accept discounts or bank cards, for therefore, the price of fuel is cheaper. (…) There is nothing new in these experiments on how to attract a customer, “he says.

Lithuanian service station unions say they do not yet have information from other service station networks about similar plans.