Costco has banked on an airy proposition with its tire service customers to gain market share: free nitrogen. Nitrogen is said to prolong tire and wheel life, improve gas mileage and keep tires inflated longer than those with compressed air.
A purveyor of a number of items, from wine and jewelry to electronics and caskets, Costco started installing nitrogen equipment last summer and achieved full implementation in its approximately 400 U.S. and Canadian tire centers in the fall, says Robert Moyer, Costco’s tire director of North America sales and services.
The move is part of a larger culture of “nitrogen awareness,” which involves targeting the consumer with education and services regarding nitrogen’s benefits as a tire filling. Though the cost of nitrogen is typically pricey ($3 to $5 per tire), Costco is offering its nitrogen amenities free with tire purchase and provides fill-ups for the life of the tire, according to Moyer. He says the cost of the generators, provided by Branick Industries in Fargo, N.D., can be recouped in the market share the company stands to gain. “We consider equipment improvements the cost of doing business.”
Tires originally filled with nitrogen also can be topped off with traditional compressed air, which is about 80 percent nitrogen and 20 percent oxygen, and Costco will replenish the nitrogen level, according to a company brochure.
“We’ve had a tremendous amount of good feedback,” says Moyer, who adds customers are given literature at the time of tire installation to inform them of nitrogen’s advantages.
Other service chains, like Pep Boys, also are rumored to be making the foray into nitrogen as a tire service.
Used for years in racing and by NASA and airline companies, nitrogen’s use as a tire filling is widespread in Europe.
