How Outdoor Propane Products Can Increase Customer Retention

The rise in outdoor living is reshaping propane demand. Propane dealers who recognize this shift have a great opportunity to build deeper customer loyalty and more consistent revenue throughout the year by capitalizing on outdoor propane products.

The Retention Challenge in the Propane Industry 

For most consumers, propane is invisible — simply a fuel that powers appliances quietly in the background and only noticed when the tank runs low. That invisibility creates a persistent problem for propane dealers where price is often the only differentiator a customer sees. 

The National Propane Gas Association has long acknowledged that customer churn remains one of the industry’s most significant challenges. When consumers can switch suppliers with a phone call — and often save money by doing so — loyalty is hard to manufacture through fuel supply/delivery alone. 

A quiet but powerful shift in consumer behavior is increasing residential customers’ need for propane. Dealers who expand into outdoor living products like grills, fire pits, patio heaters, gas lighting and outdoor kitchens are finding that propane transforms from a line item into a must-have for the outdoor lifestyle. When that shift happens, customers don’t just stay longer — they buy more. 

The Outdoor Living Opportunity 

Outdoor living has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream home improvement priority. According to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA), the outdoor living market now represents more than $20 billion in annual United States consumer spending. Grand View Research has shared that consumer interest in at-home entertaining, and the blurring of indoor/outdoor living environments, continues to fuel steady growth projections through the end of the decade and beyond. 

Grills represent the most direct entry point for customers. Let me share a few more numbers: 

• The HPBA estimates that over 70% of U.S. households own a grill. 
• Market Growth Reports states that over 33 million propane grills were sold in the U.S. in 2023. 
• According to the 2024/2025 Grand View Research Barbeque Grill Market report, propane dominates the gas grill segment by a ratio of nearly 9-to-1 over natural gas. 
• Another expanding segment, propane-fueled outdoor heating — including outdoor heaters and fire pits — is expected to gross more than $2 billion in sales by 2033, according to a Freedonia Group industry report. 

These are strong statistics that make the math for propane dealers straightforward, especially when you consider that customers who buy gas grills need propane to use it. 

The market has already created the demand. The question is who captures the relationship. 

Why Outdoor Living Drives Retention 

The connection between outdoor living products and customer retention is driven by three main points. 

1. Increased fuel usage: Grill ownership creates a recurring propane demand that heating-only accounts don’t generate. The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has identified outdoor cooking as one of the highest-growth segments of propane consumption because ownership of outdoor gas appliances translates directly into gallons. More appliances mean more reasons for the customer to rely on the dealer’s services. 
2. Habit formation: A family that grills several times a week during the summer months may require refills multiple times per season. Each interaction reinforces the relationship and reduces the likelihood of switching. Customers with higher touchpoint frequency are less likely to switch providers; the relationship becomes the default. 
3. Higher customer lifetime value: A customer who purchases a grill, patio heater, gas lighting and fire pit through a dealer has made investments that are difficult to replicate with a competitor. The switching cost is no longer just inconvenience — it involves potentially replacing equipment and losing a service relationship. PERC data shows that multi-appliance propane households consume more gallons annually and remain customers longer than single-appliance households. 

Propane’s Competitive Advantage Over Big Box & E-commerce Retailers 

Big box and e-commerce retailers stock a wide range of outdoor living products at competitive prices. For a consumer with no existing relationship with a propane dealer, a big box store is the path of least resistance. But there is a glaring limitation: The transaction ends at the checkout. 

When a customer buys a grill from big box or e-commerce, the retailer’s involvement ends. There is no recurring fuel relationship, no installation/maintenance service and no one calling them to confirm they are stocked up before Memorial Day weekend. A propane dealer can sell the product and become the customer’s long-term fuel and service partner — a fundamentally different proposition. 

This distinction compounds as products grow in complexity. Based on a 2025 Global Growth Insights report, approximately 38% of the gas grill market is shifting toward higher-end multifunctional grills, largely driven by the popularity of outdoor living spaces for home entertainment. 

A freestanding grill is one thing. An outdoor living space with built-in appliances and gas lighting along pathways all with dedicated propane lines requires expertise that a box-store associate simply cannot provide. Local dealers who develop installation and service capabilities are no longer competing with big box retailers — they are offering something the big box stores cannot. 

Strategies to Drive Retention Through Outdoor Living 

Product Bundling 

Grill-plus-tank-plus-first-fill packages simplify the purchase decision and anchor the customer’s first fuel transaction with the dealer. According to PERC, bundled promotions combining appliance sales with fuel incentives consistently outperform standalone product offers in driving first-time and repeat purchases. 

Loyalty & Refill Programs 

Structured incentives like reward programs that offer points for refills and/or seasonal promotions tied to grilling seasons give customers a reason to return. Customers who understand their loyalty will be rewarded are measurably less likely to price shop competitors. 

Showroom & Demonstration Experiences 

The HPBA has documented that hands-on product interactions dramatically increase purchase intent and that customers who receive cooking education alongside a product sale develop stronger brand attachment than those who receive none. Dealers who create a destination showroom, rather than a transactional retail floor, are investing in relationships that price competition cannot easily win over. 

Expansion Beyond Grills 

Fire pits, patio heaters, gas lighting and outdoor kitchens each represent additional demand and deeper customer investment. HPBA market data shows that customers who purchase one outdoor living category are significantly more likely to purchase adjacent categories within two years, making cross-category expansion a natural retention strategy. 

Challenges to Consider 

An honest assessment requires acknowledging the costs. Entering the outdoor living retail business is not a low-investment decision. 

Stocking grills and related accessories requires up-front capital and ongoing inventory management across seasonal cycles. Investment in staff training is also a prerequisite; selling outdoor living products effectively requires product knowledge that fuel delivery employees may not possess automatically. The strategy only works when dealers compete on expertise and service, not price. Dealers who try to undercut the big box retailers on price alone will lose. Those who build a differentiated service model will win. 

From Commodity to Lifestyle Brand 

Propane alone is a commodity — evaluated and switched based on cost per gallon. On the other hand, an outdoor living space is an experience with retention based on the quality of the relationship and the value of the services attached to it. 

Dealers who have successfully made the shift report higher-than-average revenue per customer, lower churn and more predictable seasonal demand. A customer retained for 10 years at a higher annual spend is worth multiples of a customer retained for three years at an average spend. An outdoor living strategy expands both variables at the same time. 

Propane dealers have always had the raw material for this kind of relationship, a fuel that powers the products people love most in their outdoor spaces. The dealers who will outperform their competitors in the years ahead are those who stop selling fuel and start selling experiences that fuel makes possible.