09:30, Mar 31

How often did we visit gas stations during the Covid-19 pandemic?

The dynamic economic changes observed during the Covid-19 pandemic significantly disturbed many areas of our lives. Gas stations and their number of visitors have certainly also been affected by the changes. The government’s current guidelines dictate the behavior of the residents of Poland. School closures, remote work, hotel restrictions, unavailability of air travel, and closed state borders are only some of our economy’s current challenges. In this unstable situation, many sectors of the economy fell victim to the restrictions of mobility. This situation gives room for interesting analysis. Do you think that gas stations owners have anything to worry about?

Based on the Selectivv Gas Stations Index, we present an analysis of visits to gas stations in 2020. We based on a sample of 350 gas station locations of different vendors. This data is based on the behavior of a fixed number of mobile device users, randomly visiting selected locations.

report gas stations in Poland based on mobile data - number of visits
Chart 1. Index: changes of visits to gas stations 2018 - 2020.

As it turns out, the increase in the number of visitors to gas stations, observed over the last three years, did not change in 2020. It is true that the pace of growth has slowed down but remains positive. This shows that even during the first and second waves of Covid-19, people continued to visit gas stations. The recorded decreases of visits during single months were minor. 

Gas stations state during the pandemic

What sets apart 2020 from other years is the significant fluctuation in the number of visits in individual months. The differences between the lowest and the highest observed values are:

  • 25.14 index points in 2020;
  • in 2019 - 14,11;
  • in 2018 - just 10,28.

The values ​​from the initial six months of the year were in line with the trend. Data from July and August were record-breaking. The sudden increase was due to summer vacation tourism. These two months proved to be crucial in the face of a huge decline in domestic tourism over the year. It was a period during which the government eased the restrictions. People eagerly took advantage of the possibility of free movement and the opening of many facilities. 

According to the analysis performed by Selectivv, tourists were the group that visited gas stations the most in the previous year. This data is based on the ongoing monitoring of tourist traffic in Poland. Out of concern for health, private means of transport were chosen more often than public transportation. Therefore this increased the number of visits to gas stations.

Fluctuation in fuel prices

The chart shows the fuel price dependencies (based on data from autocentrum.pl) compared to the number of visits to gas stations (based on the Selectivv analysis).

report gas stations in Poland based on mobile data - fuel price changes
Chart 2. The month-to-month change in fuel prices and visits to gas stations.

It is clear that there have been large variations in fuel prices between 2020 and 2019. Price drops were recorded around March-April and October-November. Moreover, after these months, the number of visits increased. 

Finally, in 2020 the fuel industry recorded a decrease in the upward trend in retail outlet visits. However, no significant losses were recorded. Compared to other industries, the fuel industry is in a stable position, considering the general economic difficulties during the pandemic. The beginning of 2021 proves to be dynamic. January 2021 is a record decline: -12.18% month on month and -7.1% year on year. However, already in February, the index value increased to 101.19 points, and the number of visits fell by 2.8% year on year.

In conclusion, the mobility rates change every month, not only in the fuel industry. We regularly report data on population movement trends based on the Selectivv Index. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date.

If you want to learn more about the research conducted by Selectivv visit our website. You will find there detailed information about all the research and analyzes we perform.

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