June 2017 Industry News from Patriot Capital

Dispenser and POS Companies See the Future - In the Cloud

Over the past several weeks, Gilbarco, Wayne Fueling, Conexxus and Verifone have held their annual user meetings. One of the objectives of these meetings is to provide customers with a glimpse into near term, and not so near term, products.

Here are some of the key trends that were discussed at these meetings:

Autonomous and connected cars. New vehicles, like the Honda Accords, will be smarter in, around, and beyond the car. New offers including contactless payment and pump activation from inside the vehicle.
Millennials. This age group of 83 million Americans have unique behaviors and expectations.
The Cloud. Leveraging available information can improve your sites marketing, maintenance, and operating costs.
EMV and Payment Security. By the end of 2018, 50% of U.S. gas pumps will be able to handle EMV payment. Many attendees are not waiting to implement EMV capabilities and are anticipating significant improvements in transaction times.

Will Section 179 Survive the 2017 Trump Tax Plan?

There is a risk that changes to the tax act will result in fueling and convenience store equipment costing retailers significantly more. If the Trump Tax Plan becomes law in 2017, Section 179 benefits may no longer be available to convenience store owners.

Section 179 is a popular tax incentive designed to encourage small businesses to purchase capital equipment. The incentive allows businesses depreciation tax deductions that would normally be taken over 5, 7 or 10 years to be taken in the first year. This can result in significant cash flow benefits. For example, on a $100,000 purchase, an operator in a 35% tax bracket could capture $35,000 in first-year tax savings rather than the traditional $5,000 tax benefit.

What is certain is that purchasing equipment today will benefit a business owner with both a higher rate of depreciation and the ability to use Section 179. Waiting to see what the Trump Tax Plan yields may result in a significantly higher after tax cost for small business equipment.

For examples of how Section 179 could benefit your business, please see this article from CSP Online. For a discussion of the potential impacts of the Trump Tax Plan on convenience store operators, please see this article.

This article is not intended to provide tax or legal advice, please consult your tax and legal professional advisers for advice regarding your particular situation.

Big Themes Driving Loyalty Programs

A recent Conexxus webinar shared insights on customer engagement technologies and leveraging them to grow sales and profitability. Gray Taylor, Conexxus Executive Director, shared these big themes that are becoming reality:

Continued lowering of hardware costs
5G mobile connectivity
IoT: monitor and personalize “everything”
Big Data: Capture everything, mine it for gold combined with the Cloud infrastructure

Lesley Saitta, CEO, Impact 21 highlighted the rapid adoption of mobile beacons and their higher effectiveness in delivering results. This combines with the continued growth of mobile apps for C-stores, providing consumers with information, payment options, and customized loyalty offers and coupons.

WCapra's Ed Collupy shared insights on the growing impact of digital signage, both at the pump (pump TV) and in store. These technologies are delivering on driving in-store traffic from the forecourt, growing food sales and repeat business.

The Fed appears committed to two more rate hikes in 2017 - probably in June and either September or December. Source Kiplinger May 8, 2017

Is Your Business Vulnerable to the Wannacry Ransomware?

Since it was discovered on May 12, this virus has infected computers around the globe. Businesses are being asked to pay up to $300 to have their computer restored, a payment that hasn’t been confirmed to remove the threat. If you are using Windows 8, XP or Server 2003, you are most vulnerable.

There are several steps you can take to protect yourself:

Supplement your anti-virus software with a ransomware blocker
Update Windows immediately and turn on auto-update
Consider cloud storage for your business files

For a good review of how you can protect your business data, please see this CNET.COM article.

Gas pump TV now reaches over 75 million viewers at over 18,000 convenience stores each month, providing advertisers access to over 31 Million millennial shoppers.

ExxonMobil's Speedpass+ App Gets an Upgrade

Ford’s AppLink technology in Sync 3 allows Speedpass+ app users to use the in-vehicle touchscreen and voice commands to authorize payment, making it the first fuel-payment-connected car application in the United States. Ford owners can also use the app to check how much fuel is left in the tank when they are away from their car.

“With these updates to the Speedpass+ app, consumers now have even more options to pay for fuel while sitting in the comfort of their car, either using Ford Sync 3 or the Apple Watch,” said Matt Bergeron, vice president of marketing for ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Co. “This is more than a cashless payment app"