The fuel retailing industry, as an element of the energy markets, is characterized by uncertainty. Over the past years, this sector has been experiencing various changes due to many reasons: amendments to regulations and laws for sustainable energy, digitization of business, shift towards a carbon-free and environmentally friendly economy. Furthermore, this kind of business is strongly affected by the petroleum price volatility and supply chain disruptions incurred all around the world (i.e., wars, political instability, pandemic Covid-19 etc.).

On this basis and taking into account the change in consumers’ behavior, fuel retailers should demonstrate a deep understanding of the variables that affect their sales performance. Also, they should - by introspecting their business model - conceptualize the need for evolvement so as to ensure their business resilience and sustainability.

A lot of studies have been published concerning the investigation of the fuel retailing situation and the proposal of effective ways for the relevant supply chain reconstruction and sales forecasting. This study, by analyzing the real sales data from a gasoline station in Chania (Crete, Greece) of almost 11 years (2010- June 2022) aims to unveil repeated dynamic features and functional relationships between sales and exogenous variables (airport arrivals, lockdown/ mini-lockdown days). Additionally, aims to juxtapose the findings with the management team’s perception about the specific time series characteristics and to suggest simple forecasting models.