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THE FUTURE OF CONVENIENCE STORES

April 9, 2012

We were pleased to be chosen by the NACS/CCRRC to do their research into what convenience retailers can learn to encourage shoppers to come more frequently to their stores and to spend more when they are there.  We learned later that one of the reasons the Council selected our team, was our focus on not just good research, but on helping solve the business problem.

The release of the new Council report “C-Growth: Using Shopper Research to Grow C-Store Sales” means that our initial work is now available at www.CCRRC.org (NACS/CCRRC page) and I want to give you three reasons why the Council members and our team feel that it’s worthwhile for you to download  a copy and read it.

  1. Shopper research focuses on better understanding  the purchase needs shoppers are seeking to fulfill on their various types of  shopping occasions.  This report shows how focusing on a specific set of shopper needs gives you a way to determine how well you’re satisfying these needs and helps identify improvements you can make to better serve your shoppers.  There is a section in the report that gives you background on shopper research and explains how it differs from consumer research.
  2. The well received hierarchy of shopper needs was detailed in an earlier Council study and our work builds on that by going beyond the important basic needs of cleanliness, hospitality, and the feeling of safety.  We found that shoppers, who are on the go, typically are torn between the need to control their time and their spending and the desire for a little break from everyday pressure.  Council members found this insight provides the foundation for new business building actions and we think you will too.
  3. The study lays out five potential growth platforms for convenience retail that provide exciting opportunities to expand the shopping occasions that you serve in your stores.  There’s still work to do to fill out the details of the concepts, but there’s plenty in the report to help you start to think about which would be best for your business.

After you’ve looked at the report, I’d encourage you to comment here on the blog so we can continue to build energy around these platforms as a way to drive sales for convenience retailers.

John Essegian

Executive Vice President

TNS Landis