Insight Research on "Global C-Store Innovations and Best Practice."

November 1, 2009

NACS Show - Las Vegas, October 2009

At the NACS Show, held in Las Vegas during October, "Best practices in convenience store marketing" was the topic of discussion on Wednesday the 21st of October 2009.

The "Global C-Store Innovations" session was presented by Dan Munford, a partner at U.K. based Insight Research

The presentation shared innovated ideas from across the globe. From fresh "baked pastries to sleek design and effective signage, the solutions presented could be excellent benchmarking tools as well as inspiration for retailers big and small.

"The concept of convenience is changing," Munford said. "Stores are still fighting for consumers who are in a hurry, but there is also now a notion of freshness that dominates the business." Munford took the audience on a virtual journey around the world to showcase some of the best ways to incorporate freshness and other important concepts into the store experience.

Waitrose, a British supermarket retailer, has gone into the convenience store market banking on the idea that even in a recession, market customers are still looking for quality.

With a format comparable to Whole Foods, it translated the feel into a 6,000-square-foot space, a downsize from the usual 20,000, and made fresh foods its major offering.

It has a number of service counters, from seafood and meats to fresh baked goods, as well as a large deli selection. Special attention is paid to "time of day" merchandising and ready-to-eat meals. The liquor aisles are stocked with half-bottles of wine along with regular bottles, helping the customer make a decision and feel good about it.

Hoping to attract female drivers, Irish convenience store chain Applegreen upgraded its bathrooms with chrome fixtures, designer sinks and solid countertops. "People tend to associate dirty bathrooms with low-quality food and other offerings in the store," Munford said."Applegreen invested in this and turned it into a great marketing tool."

The chain also presents consistent branding, promoting the ideas of "green" and "fresh" both at the pump and inside the store. The same ides resonate at the South African Pick-n-Pay stores that feature a Wild Bean Cafe concept expanded with a fresh bakery.

Another major theme touched on in the presentation was self-checkout.

"Younger generations get it immediately, but as customers get older, it can be progressively harder," Munford said. "At the same time, as customer are getting used to the idea, they get more comfortable with it."

Fresh and Easy stores in Las Vegas now offer 100 percent self-checkout, which may be somewhat extreme for most operators, but is indicative of the overall trend, he said.

"We find that some people are more willing to wait in line and go through self-checkout than interact with staff," he said.

This can change several things for the operators. First, what happens to the impulse sales that happen by the cash register" To combat that problem, some busier stores in the U.K. are using the queue pattern similar to airports and line the path with all the usual offerings, from magazines to candy. That allows customers a chance to pick up items before they get to the checkout point, Munford said.

Maintaining the dialog with the customers is another issue when human interaction is reduced, so some stores are hiring a special staff member just for that. Your mission is to make customers feel like even with all the modern conveniences, there is still plenty of personal attention, he said.

These were amongst some of the solutions ideas and concepts covered in the presentation. To recieve a copy of the full presentation contact hannah@insightresearch.co.uk at Insight Research.