Summer temps aren’t the only weather occurrences affecting car wash sales this year.
By Anne Baye Ericksen, Contributing Editor
What a difference a few thousand miles makes.
While Californians face strict water restrictions, residents throughout the South and Midwest are cleaning up after record-breaking spring and summer flooding. Ironically, these divergent weather conditions are stirring up very different business scenarios for convenience store-operated car washes.
DRY, DRIER, DRIEST
California remains in its fourth year of extreme drought punctuated in January 2014 when Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency, calling for a 20% reduction in water consumption.
Earlier this year, the governor issued an executive order instructing the State Water Resources Control Board to reduce potable water use statewide by 25% over the next 10 months. In response to both directives, local regulatory bodies established strict guidelines for residential and commercial customers. Because driveway car washing is one of the biggest uses of water, most municipalities have prohibited the practice without the use of an automatic shutoff nozzle. Some California cities, such as San Jose, have banned personal car care altogether.
“On average, at home, you can use up to 100 gallons of water in comparison to the car wash down the street that uses a minimum number of gallons of water per car wash,” said Kristy Babb, executive director of the Western Carwash Association (WCWA).
In fact, officials have launched water-conservation campaigns encouraging drivers to clean their vehicles in commercial washes, which are helping car wash sales in the Golden State.
“There’s a misconception that you should not take your car to a car wash during a drought,” said Babb. “But people are starting to make the responsible choice and wash it at a commercial car wash versus at home. Businesses are doing a much better job communicating that message to consumers.”
BACK TO NORMAL
Compared with the West and South, the Northeast has enjoyed a relatively mild spring and summer. Of course, the region is coming off one of the toughest winters on the books.
“The first three months of 2015 were terrible. We had record snowfall and extreme cold. It was difficult to manage through that,” said Micah Smith, car wash operations manager for Global Partners LP, which earlier this acquired 150 Xtra Mart c-stores—30 with fully-automated car washes located throughout New England.
When temperatures rose, the company capitalized on the climate change to entice owners to wash the remnants of winter off their vehicles.
“May was an extraordinary month. We had five full weekends in the month. We had a more-than-normal pollen season, which may be directly related to the harsh winter, and there was a lack of rain for the entire month,” he explained.
However, summer car wash sales tend to trail off without the salt and grime of snowy roads dirtying vehicles. To compensate, Smith instructs staff to promote the service alongside other sales. “We offer coffee, newspapers and snacks in addition to car washes and filling up tanks, which I think gives us an advantage over standalone washes. It’s about making sure our sales associates are aware and they’re getting the communication out,” he said.
And despite the fact that the calendar reads August, preparations for winter are already underway. Smith is using the time and pleasant weather to assess and address maintenance issues, such as making sure the heating system is fully operational.
“This past winter was so cold and it was such dramatic weather that it was difficult to manage the car washes during that time. Now it’s all about being ready,” Smith said.
SEASONAL WASHOUT
The drought in California is extreme, but several areas of the country have experienced precipitation shortfalls. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s U.S. Drought Monitor, approximately one-fifth of the country was experiencing “moderate to exceptional drought at the end of May.”
“WCWA represents 12 member states and not all of them are in the drought, but we’re making sure all our members are well informed [because] we believe other states are looking at stricter water restrictions,” said Babb.
Until the end of May, Texas qualified for this category. Then several massive weather systems moved through. Record-breaking rainfalls filled reservoirs, prompting officials to reverse the state’s drought status. However, the storms did not bode well for car washes.
“In California, we are way up [in sales] over last year, but Texas has been more difficult. Texas is weather driven,” said Jason Johnson, president of Quick Quack Car Wash, a Sacramento, Calif.-based business, which sells convenience merchandise and operates 19 locations in northern California and Texas.
Elsewhere, other c-stores have weathered their own financial storms.
“It’s been terrible,” stated Justin Alford, an owner of Benny’s Carwash, based in Baton Rouge, La. The family business runs six car washes, three B-Quik convenience stores and several oil change operations. “We usually have strong months in March, April and May, but this year, they were washouts.”
The fact that many of the spring storms hit on weekends compounded the situation. “If it’s raining on Friday and Saturday, then business is dead in the water,” Alford said. “We missed weekends in the spring during our busy time.”
Nor was this spring an isolated scenario for the region. “We have been getting hammered with rain the last few years,” he said. “As a whole, 2014 [sales were] down from 2013, and 2013 was down a little from 2012. So far in 2015 we’re down probably 12% from last year.”
The figures tend to substantiate the assertion the industry in this part of the country is more susceptible to weather than standard economic factors, such as gas prices.
“Last year was great for gas profits and margins. But when it’s raining, people don’t get out and drive as much,” Alford said. “You can put a sign out advertising free car washes, but if it’s raining, you are not going to wash any cars. You can’t change or fight the weather in the car wash business.”
CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION
Overall, California’s tough water conservation rules have helped area car wash retailers.
“The consequence has been a positive for us and it’s how we’ve grown. People have left their driveways and are using commercial car washes,” said Quick Quack’s Johnson. From the onset, Johnson designed Quick Quack to withstand California’s cyclical drought patterns. The company installed automated conveyor systems designed to reclaim water—an average eight gallons of fresh water per car.
“We were looking at the threats in the industry and we identified potential water restrictions as a significant one. Even when there wasn’t a drought, we knew water was a precious resource,” said Johnson.
Johnson recognized that for these efforts to resonate with consumers, he would need the endorsement of local water regulators.
Now that more water districts acknowledge commercial car washes function as responsible water users, Johnson has turned his educational efforts toward convincing drivers. For this, Quick Quack relies on sales associates.
“We’re always encouraging [our employees] to be teachers so they can get the best sales,” Johnson said. “They are the face of our company, so when customers have questions, associates need to be able to answer them well.”