Over the last year, PetrolPrices has changed a a great deal but our mission is always the same, which is to help drivers reduce fuel spend.

Unfortunately, this year drivers are likely to see an increase in fossil fuel prices due to supply and demand changes as well as increasing political instability in the Middle East. Carbon taxes are expected to increase costs at the pump in some countries by at least 7%, for example Canada has just launched its carbon tax price rises on fossil fuels on January 1^st 2020. The Conservative government are unlikely to introduce carbon taxes during Brexit negotiations, but we could see it appear in some parts of the EU alongside single use plastic taxes.

And while there is no mention of it yet, the introduction of E10 unleaded biofuel could cost more than E5 unleaded fuel if implemented. The petrol retail industry in the UK has already taken steps to prepare for the change, but there is no urgency to roll it out at the moment.

PetrolPrices sees fuel price rises as an opportunity to deliver even more fuel savings to its members, we feel that this is going to be the single most important year for the business and the petrol retail industry is going to undergo big changes this year too.

As members you provide us with the reason we do this and its why we plan to launch a range of exciting new product features in 2020 to help drivers reduce fuel spend even more.

Review of 2019:

PetrolPrices was relaunched on April 7^th 2019 at the Forecourt Show at the NEC with positive industry feedback. From that point we faced a great deal of difficulty fixing all the problems that the relaunch had created, which we did not anticipate.

We know that many members had numerous problems getting access to the service for a few months after the launch and we admit that the complexity of what we took on with such a small team was far too much. However, almost all issues were resolved by the end of July and things were back up and running as before, but even better as a result of the new features.

The biggest change to PetrolPrices in 2019 has been the app, which has increased in use by over 200%. One of the key drivers for this growth has been improvements in deep linking, so users can click on an email or web link to be taken directly to the app page.

Over the last year, interaction with news articles has fallen by more than half. As a result of this we have taken the tough decision to end News as a service, this means the newsletter will also change to a weekly driver update email.

Product features 2019:

• Licensed and crowdsourced fuel prices – most comprehensive source in the UK
• Station ratings and reviews, 80,000 reviews on 5,600 forecourts to earn points
• Ability to confirm or update fuel prices to earn points
• Ability to earn points and climb the leaderboard
• Up to 50 stations per search result
• Garage with MOT and Tax reminders
• Reg Plate Lotto to win a lifetime of fuel

New product features 2020:

Amazon Alexa Fuel Skill

We are really pleased to say that we are now live with Version 1 of a PetrolPrices fuel skill on Amazon Alexa. It enables drivers to search for the cheapest or nearest fuel by using their voice only and can function at home on any Echo device or on the Amazon Alexa app. It also means that you can ask for fuel price information while driving, but more work is needed to deliver a better service for drivers in car, so please be aware it’s an early version and needs several further improvements

Android Auto and Apple Carplay

The plan is to deliver services that also function with Google Home and Apple Siri that will work in Android Auto and Apple Carplay. Most modern vehicles are now being fitted with Android Auto and Apple Carplay as standard and its very important that PetrolPrices provides the same service in vehicles controlled by voice

Driver Update Email

Driver update email replaces the newsletter. This will contain useful information based on your usage of the PetrolPrices service and vehicle parked in the garage, as well as ongoing partner promotions

Fuel Prize Draw

Fuel prize draw follows on from the highly successful Reg Plate Lotto campaign that is to end with the final draw on January 22^nd. Members will be able to spend their points accumulated on buying tickets for the weekly fuel prize draw, which starts with a weekly draw for £100 of fuel to one winner guaranteed, eventually leading to a daily fuel prize draw for multiple winners

Dynamic Status Update, Enhanced Reviews

Users want to tell us when stations are out of fuel, or closed for refurbishments or for refuelling. Dynamic status updates will enable members to tell other members when something is happening at a forecourt in near real time. Reviews will also get an overhaul and show review highlights by category.

Simplified Website

PetrolPrices is developing guest mode for the website, which means logging in will not be needed to search or view stations. The website will also be much cleaner and simpler to use than previous versions with the removal of News and Guides

Giftbox and Lootboxes

Members will be able to open a giftbox on the app that will randomly select from a series of prizes or no prize at all. Lootboxes are prize boxes that can only be opened when a member is located on a forecourt after performing a set challenge. These will contain a series of prizes or no prize at all and its completely random each time its opened

Forecourt Rewards

PetrolPrices plans to begin the roll out of forecourt rewards in 2020, which includes fuel, car wash, food and convenience product discounts. Members can enter competitions, make purchases or complete specific tasks, such as filling in surveys in return for access to a wide variety of discounts provided by retail and brand partners

As you can see, we have some seriously ambitions product feature plans for 2020. As existing members you are the only ones who understand the value we provide in reducing fuel costs.

If you have any feedback or a product feature idea that you want added to the service then please email me at jason@petrolprices.com and I will respond to your query as soon as possible. If a product feature idea is used by PetrolPrices for the benefit of other members we will send you a fuel card as a thank you gift.

Thanks for listening and we hope you have a great year and beyond.

Jason Lloyd

Managing Director

PetrolPrices.com Ltd

If you haven’t already heard, we released our new app recently and we wanted to go over some of the main exciting features we’ve included and show you what it looks like.

We’ll go through all the main points of the app, from our new re-design, the station pages, reviews and more! We hope this helps you to get a better understanding of the app and what we plan. You can read Jason’s (our MDs) letter from last week here, in which he explains a bit more about the company, its future direction and what the main benefits are of the new service.

Installing the app

On first installing the new app, users don’t need to do anything other than accept the terms and conditions and then they can start searching. This is what we call “newbie mode” and for many people who don’t like to share personal data and just want prices, this is the best option for you.

However if a user wants to use the other functions in the app, (e.g. search preferences, garage, report prices, leaderboard, account) they will need to register an account and that means some information needs to be provided. In future when rewards are launched, these can ONLY be received if a user registers an account.

The new homepage!

The purpose of the new app homepage is to get you to the most important functions of the app quickly and explain what benefits you get from using each important part of the service. The homepage will become more dynamic in the future and will be used to promote new services, or display things that are more personal to you, such as recent searches or garage information.

We quite like the simplicity of the homepage here at PetrolPrices, and hope you do to!

Pricing

On to pricing, we have an agreement with our data partner to display 10 prices from them on any search. 

This is where we want you to get involved and give us prices and reviews. We know that the price information from our partner is old and can be inaccurate, so you will earn points each time you give us that information on the app. The more you give the more points and other rewards you will receive.

One final point on this, we have implemented a series of checks to make sure that the price supplied by users is as accurate as possible, but its still based on trust. The users must consider that when they supply information its for the benefit of other users to save money, so please make sure its accurate.

Our filters

In previous app iterations filters were limited and didn’t match what was on the website. Well, we’ve now changed that and have introduced a harmonisation on the search on web and app. This means that search will work the same and has the same filters on both web and app, although it will look a bit different!

We’ve also got default search preferences back in the app, and it’ll be coming on web soon! This means that you can save your prefered radius, fuel type, brand and map or list view.

Station pages

Station pages are new and are filled with all the information you could possibly want! You can now update and confirm prices, see facilities and update the facilities at a station, review and see others reviews of a station.

They also have a directions button, and some have opening times, although we’re working to get more and more opening times. Soon we hope to have update stations feature, allowing you to report if a station is closed permanently, temporarily or just to update the branding of a station.

The Garage

Another new feature for 2.0 is the garage, our latest way to help the motorist. As well as seeing details about your car you’ll also get MOT and tax reminders for when the time comes. The purpose of the garage is to deliver value to members in various ways connected to the vehicle that sits within it. 

This is the first iteration of the garage, and we’ve got some big things planned which we can’t wait to share with you soon!

Account settings and preferences

Yes we know it’s the boring screens at the back of the app but very important. Shortly we are about to go live with an update that will mean that all the fields that you can change on the website can also be done on the app, (Please note you need to be a registered user to do this).

We’ve heard many of you want to change the username or set up alerts from the app. If you complete your profile in the account then you will earn a completion bonus and more points.

Our app is getting better and better, so why not download it now to use it for yourself!

As always, any questions can be answered by our support team by emailing: support@petrolprices.com and you can check our FAQ’s here: https://www.petrolprices.com/support/

Old PetrolPrices Service

The main benefit of the data from Experian Catalist is it’s accuracy because it’s based on fuel card transaction data by forecourt and fuel grade. But it does have faults, such as the time delay as most transactions are recorded 24-48 hours ago. Another problem is it won’t show prices from a station if no one has used a fuel card there and some stations don’t accept fuel cards. Members often feedback that the prices we show are wrong and this is the cause.

The cost of licensing the data is expensive, and this is why we tried to offer a paid subscription for an improved version called Plus. While some members accepted this, the vast majority considered the idea of paying for fuel information was wrong. This made us deeply reflect on what service we should provide for the future using market research conducted with members

Crowdsource Fuel App

PetrolPrices was inspired by apps across the world that have built a community of price spotters who submit fuel price information or reviews and in return earn points that can be spent on rewards. Gasbuddy, PriceSpy, Clever Tanken and Fuelio are examples of crowdsource driven fuel apps that do this to great effect.

The role of forecourts are changing, and as they evolve, drivers need to know about the availability of facilities at each station and customer reviews for stations will become ever more critical. The best way to collect this information from members, whether it be prices, reviews or facilities on a crowdsource fuel app, and this is what we have built for members.

How does it work?

What you will see change is that many of the links from emails or the website when browsing on mobile will direct users into the app. This is because most of the best information is on the app, plus its more secure, faster and enables the use of the app’s main functions on the forecourt. Some of you may already have received messages encouraging you to report fuel prices on the app when you are at a station, for instance.

To become a PetrolPrices Price spotter on the app, you must actively take part in reviewing or updating the prices of any stations you pass or visit, as well as updating the station’s page with details of the facilities and rating the overall experience.

In return, you will receive points. For example, for updating a price can earn you ten points, confirming a price gets you five points and if you confirm/update all four fuel grades for one station, you get an extra ten points. For reviews, you’ll get 10 points for each written review, but only one per station.

By continually reviewing stations, reporting prices and completing tasks within the app, you’ll climb our leaderboard and could soon be at the top. Extra points will also be given for giving us trustworthy, accurate information, using the app regularly, or putting your vehicle in the garage.

The more points you earn, the higher up the leaderboard you will climb. In the next major release, we will show you ways that you will be able to spend your points on various kinds of rewards, prizes and competitions.

How do we make money?

A new source of income will come from the information collected from usage of the app itself that we will charge petrol retailers to access a platform so that they can gain customer as well as operational insights into what is happening on their forecourts or competitor forecourts each day. Just to reassure you, this is completely anonymous and does not provide ANY personal information whatsoever, and we are not selling the data itself, ONLY access to a platform.

The final way we will make money is by charging brands a fee to provide our users with discounted and personalised rewards that will appear in email, website and app.

The three ways we make money mean that we can provide our service for free to members, where there is a clear value exchange that provides money saving benefits to members in exchange for anonymous usage information. This is all laid out in the terms and conditions here.

Of course, any member has the right not to agree to provide information, which is why we have created an unregistered version of the app so that the app works without personal information. Users can also download as well as delete their account with all the information in it at any point from the system.

What’s coming in the future?

To confirm, you don’t need to give us any information for the fuel service to work. It will still deliver fuel price information. But the more who take part and provide us with information to earn points and rewards, the better the service will be for the benefit of everyone else.

Those who do take part have a chance to convert their points earned into prizes or discounts on fuel, products and services in the forecourts.

If anyone has any feedback in relation to the new PetrolPrices then please feel free to comment below or send an email to support@petrolprices.com

Many of you will have noticed that on Sunday 7th April PetrolPrices completely changed its branding, website and app. The primary goal of these change is to make the service even better and we hope at some point to explain the direction it will take in future.

The project has been a lot more difficult to achieve as the entire system had to be rebuilt from scratch and this has proved very challenging for the team.

The in-house development team has only been in place since the end of January and in that time they have done a great deal of work, but need more time to complete everything so that it’s all working correctly, so please bear with us.

Here is a list of the most common reported issues and an update for each one:
• Price alerts or newsletter not received – all emails had to be switched off so that we could repair the systems that support them being sent to ensure accuracy and compliance. If you’ve come to this through the email, it means they’re up and running and back to normal

• Map not visible on the app – we decided to take the map off the first new app release to de-risk the relaunch because adding in map creates a lot more load on the app, but the map on the app is coming in the next major release in May 2019

• Location detection always on the app – without location detection turned on, the app is not able to serve fuel prices or personalised messages in your location. However, we are working to minimise the number of location calls in order to lessen the load on your phone

• Can’t reset password or log in – there was a lot of initial teething problems with this due to switching the database, but it does appear to have been resolved in the latest update. If you are still having trouble on the app, please use forgot password function on the website as this contains a link to the change your password page

• Block notification on web fuel search – we need to put our hands up on this and admit it was only when we went live did we realise that if you don’t allow location on the web browser, the search stops working and you can’t get it working again. This is something we are looking to resolve as quickly as possible

• Accuracy of price data by fuel grade – we could create a whole article just about this section. Fundamentally the way the search works has been completely changed. We believe that most of the problems are resolved. If a price is not correct YOU the user can update the price and earn points for it in the app.

Some members have already reported these issues to us, but if you find something you need help with then visit www.petrolprices.com/support or contact Support via support@petrolprices.com There is also a Support chat facility live on site.

Thank you for your continued patience and support.

PetrolPrices Team

You may have noticed over the last few months, we’ve gone quite quiet on changes, updates and telling you about what we’ve been doing.

Today we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve been working harder than ever before to bring you the new and revamped PetrolPrices service. You can probably tell some of the changes already, by the design of this page, the colours and the new logo.

Improved the search

If you’ve already got the update for the app on your phone, or if you’ve logged in to the website today, you’ll notice our massively improved fuel finder.

On our mobile app, which you can download here you’ll be able to update prices of stations! Our support team tells us that above everything else, this is something that you, our members want, and so after a long time planning, building and checking, we’re really happy to announce that yes, you can now update prices on our mobile app!

You’ll also be able to confirm a price, which helps to improve our ever-changing algorithm, making our data more and more accurate every single day

Facilities

Everyone can now also update facilities information about stations, and help other members find facilities at stations near you. Does a station have a car wash, ATM or does it offer FuelService?

We’ll be expanding this soon with opening times and detailed station pages, but we think facilities is a pretty good start for all of this.

Rant or rave?

Something else we’ve introduced is reviews. Does a forecourt constantly have dirty pumps, is one pump a bit dodgy or is the coffee at this station much better than all the others locally?

You can now comment on all these things and more in the new reviews section. On the mobile app, simply head to the station your interested in and then answer a few quick star rating questions before inputting a full written review. You’ll also be able to see the overall rating for a forecourt, along with other members reviews.

If you’re in a new area and want to fill up at a station with a great score, then look no further as in the main search you can see the average rating of each forecourt.

Earning points

On top of all of this, you can now gain points for all of the above. For example, updating a price can earn you five points, confirming a price gets you five points and if you confirm/update all the prices for one station you get ten points.

For reviews, you’ll get up to 10 points for a written review and up to five points for a quick-fire review.

There’s a UK leaderboard, so if you constantly review stations, confirm prices and complete tasks within the app you’ll climb our leaderboard and soon you could be at the top of the leaderboard.

You’ll also get extra points for being a consistent high scorer, searching regularly and logging in repeatedly. There’s plenty of ways to earn points, but we’re not going to give it all away just yet! These points are subject to change as we develop and improve the app, so please don’t take these as concrete.

We hope you enjoy using the new app and bear with us as we fix any minor bugs in the system. Our support team is quite busy at the minute but they’ll do their best to get back to you! Let us know your thoughts below, and if you’ve got any support queries please visit www.petrolprices.com/support instead, as we won’t be answering them below

Last week, we announced our new website. Hopefully, this has improved the overall experience of using our site. However, this is about our latest Plus feature, brand filtering in your price alerts.

For those of you who have an existing price alert, filtering by distance and by fuel type is already possible. With a Plus membership, you can now filter your alerts to only show certain brands.

This is game-changing for those who have a preferred station to fill up at, whether you’re a fan of the super-cheap supermarkets or you’re a traditionalist who stays loyal to the original retailers.

To add a price alert by brand, head to the alerts section of the member’s area and select the option you would like from the drop-down.

If you’d like to start filtering your price alerts by brand, you’ll need to be a Plus member, which is just £2 per month (or less than a cup of coffee!).

If you’re already part of the Plus membership, just head to the alerts section of the member area using this dropdown.

Once you’re in the alerts section, you’ll see all your existing price alerts. However, you’ll notice the additional drop-down box listed under ‘Brand’. Clicking on this will open up a list of all the brands we have price data for.

For example, if you’d like to show only Tesco stations, merely click the Tesco station listing, remember, you’ll need to click save changes. If you don’t, your price alert won’t update.

If you ever want to suggest a new feature, head to the contact page and click “suggest a feature”.