Low gasoline prices in 2024-2025: unexpected leverage for Quebec SMEs

Since 2023, gasoline prices in North America have fluctuated widely, with occasional declines contrasting with the peaks reached in 2022. Even if the famous “cheap gas at 87 cents” is not a lasting reality in Quebec, several episodes of falling prices at the pump, particularly for regular gasoline (around 87 octane), are giving consumers and businesses a bit of oxygen. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global oil demand is set to slow by 2025, helping to keep prices in check despite a tense geopolitical context. For Quebec SMEs, especially those dependent on transportation, delivery or frequent travel, this lull represents a strategic opportunity: freeing up budget to invest in digital transformation, operations optimization and growth. This article explores how to take advantage of this window of opportunity.

1. Understanding the 2024-2025 context for gasoline prices in Quebec

To plan intelligently, SME managers need to understand the major trends influencing gasoline prices in Quebec in 2024-2025.

At North American level, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicated in its 2024 outlook that average gasoline prices should remain below the peaks of 2022, thanks to more moderate demand growth and higher production in several producing regions. For its part, the IEA projects a slowdown in global oil demand growth from 2024-2025, particularly in developed countries where energy efficiency and transport electrification are progressing.

In Quebec, these global trends are reflected in :

• A reduction in extreme volatility in 2022, even if prices remain sensitive to geopolitical shocks.
• Lower price periods, especially outside seasonal peaks (summer vacations, long weekends).
• A slight improvement in purchasing power for households and businesses in terms of travel and logistics costs.

According to Statistics Canada, the “energy” and “fuel” components of the Consumer Price Index fell several times between 2023 and 2024 after peaking in 2022, helping to temper overall inflation. For an SME operating a fleet of vehicles, delivering products on a regional scale, or taking its teams on the road, these one-off decreases can represent several thousand dollars in annual savings.

However, it’s essential to bear in mind that the scenario of a liter of gasoline equivalent to 87 cents in Quebec remains exceptional: taxes, distribution costs and the reality of the local market mean that the very low prices sometimes observed in certain American regions are not directly transposable. The challenge for Quebec SMEs is not to “bet” on ultra-cheap gasoline, but to know what to do when a more favorable price window arises.

This understanding of the context opens the door to a key question: how can we intelligently reinvest the savings generated by a relative decline in fuel costs to make the company more resilient to future increases?

2. Reducing transport costs: a budget to reinvest in digital transformation

Fuel is a major item of expenditure for a number of sectors: road transport, construction, home services, distribution, retail with delivery, and so on. When a relative drop in gasoline prices occurs, it’s not just good news for immediate cash flow: it’s an opportunity to reallocate financial resources towards structuring investments.

In concrete terms, a Quebec-based SME operating a small fleet (e.g. 5 to 10 vehicles) can see its annual fuel costs drop by several percent during a phase of lower prices. Even a 5-10% saving on this item can represent several thousand dollars a year. Rather than letting this advantage dissipate, it’s strategic to direct it towards projects that will reduce the company’s sensitivity to fuel price variations over the long term.

Among the most powerful levers:

• Automation and AI: integrate AI and chatbot solutions to automate appointment scheduling, customer service, or even the management of certain administrative tasks. Less time on the phone, more time on value-added activities.
• Optimize delivery operations: deploy digital tools (route planning, optimized schedules, real-time tracking) to reduce kilometers traveled, unnecessary returns and downtime.
• Transition to e-commerce: set up or enhance a high-performance online store to centralize orders, better forecast demand and consolidate deliveries more efficiently.

These digital investments have a dual effect:

• They make the company more agile and more efficient in its travels (fewer kilometers, less fuel, less mechanical wear and tear).
• They create new sources of revenue or improve margin per order (e.g. online sales, improved customer experience, automated upsell).

The period 2024-2025 is particularly propitious: digital tools and artificial intelligence solutions, once reserved for large companies, are now accessible and affordable for SMEs. With the support of a specialized agency like Nuaweb, companies can turn a one-off drop in fuel costs into a sustainable competitive advantage by digitizing their processes.

Instead of suffering future gas price hikes, Quebec SMEs can prepare now by building a lighter, more automated structure that’s less dependent on the cost per kilometer driven.

3. Take advantage of low prices to optimize logistics, CRM and customer relations

More affordable petrol prices don’t just mean “spending less”. It’s also the ideal time to take a thorough look at logistics and customer relations. When the immediate pressure on transport costs eases slightly, managers have more mental and budgetary leeway to modernize their internal systems.

The first step is often to better structure customer data and sales processes. A CRM management system tailored to SMEs enables you to :

• Centralize information on customers, orders and delivery addresses.
• Segment customers by region, order type, frequency or volume.
• Plan smarter delivery rounds by naturally grouping orders by sector.
• Reduce unnecessary travel by validating contact details, availability slots and specific needs more efficiently.

At the same time, improved digital customer relations reduce the need for additional travel:

• Customer portals with online order tracking, invoicing and documentation.
• Chatbots and virtual assistants to answer frequently asked questions without having to go on site.
• Automated reminders (SMS or e-mail) to avoid missed appointments and wasted journeys.

According to several logistics studies, advanced route planning and the use of structured customer data can reduce kilometers traveled by 10-30%, depending on the sector, which translates into savings in fuel and working time. Even if gasoline prices look more reasonable in 2024-2025, this percentage saving remains significant and directly improves profitability.

SMEs that combine a relative drop in petrol prices with an overhaul of their logistics and CRM are better positioned to :

• Offer shorter, more reliable lead times.
• Increase customer satisfaction and re-purchase rates.
• Keep their prices competitive even if the price of a liter of petrol rises.

Nuaweb is already supporting Quebec SMEs in this transformation, by integrating CRM, marketing automation, planning tools and web platforms. The aim: to transform a cyclical context (lower gasoline prices) into a structural improvement in business performance.

4. From road to digital: websites, e-commerce and AI to sustain gains

Another way to sustainably reduce the impact of gas prices is to shift part of the company’s activity to digital. Fewer physical appointments, more online appointments. Fewer face-to-face sales, more sales via a website or online store. Less manual follow-up, more automation.

For a Quebec SME, this means a number of things:

• Website creation or redesign: a well-structured site, designed for conversion, allows you to generate online quotes, clearly explain your services and filter requests before you even have to travel. Find out how a well-designed site can reduce unnecessary travel with custom website design.
• E-commerce and online ordering: an online store or ordering module for service companies enables requests to be grouped together, rounds to be organized and sometimes even certain journeys to be reduced altogether (e.g. remote services, digital products, advice by videoconference).
• Artificial intelligence and automation: thanks toAI, chatbots and virtual assistants, your customers get answers 24/7 without an employee needing to travel or answer every call. This streamlines customer relations and reduces delays.

On a macroeconomic scale, institutions such as the OECD and the IEA emphasize that energy efficiency is as much about reducing demand (less unnecessary travel) as it is about improving technology. In other words, the best way to avoid rising petrol prices is to organize ourselves to rely less on the road.

By taking advantage of the relative lull in fuel prices in 2024-2025, Quebec SMEs can :

• Finance digital projects (website, e-commerce, CRM, AI) from the savings generated.
• Enhance customer experience with fast, modern interfaces.
• Deploy multi-channel marketing strategies (SEO, newsletters, automation) to increase sales without having to travel.

With a specialized agency like Nuaweb, SME managers can build a true digital ecosystem: a website designed to convert, an online store aligned with actual logistics, an integrated CRM, and AI tools to automate service. This kind of investment consolidates the resilience of the business, whatever the future evolution of gas prices.

Conclusion: transforming a price cut into a sustainable strategic advantage

Fluctuating gasoline prices are a fact of economic life. The prospect of “cheap gas” or lower gas prices in 2024-2025 may offer some respite, but it should not be seen as an end in itself. For Quebec SMEs, the challenge is to transform this window of opportunity into a genuine lever for modernization.

In a nutshell:

• Trends in 2024-2025 point to less dynamic global demand for oil, helping to temporarily stabilize prices.
• Transport-intensive SMEs can generate significant fuel savings to reinvest in digital transformation.
• The implementation of a high-performance CRM, optimized logistics tools, an efficient website, an online store and AI solutions will help to sustainably reduce dependence on petrol prices.
• Companies that act now will be better equipped for the next phase of rising energy costs.

If you run an SME in Quebec and want to use this lull in gas prices to invest intelligently in your growth, Nuaweb can help: digital strategy, AI, CRM, website creation, e-commerce and more.

Schedule a free consultation today to analyze your current costs, identify potential gains and build a concrete action plan tailored to your reality.

Contact Nuaweb now to discuss your project and turn the relative drop in petrol prices into a springboard to a more efficient, profitable and future-proof business.