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    5 Things to Know About Your Store's Location

    Knowing the importance of your convenience store’s location is key to the business’ success.  Your location will determine how you run your business and allow you to make better decisions. When determining the key factors in the success of your business, here are 5 things you should know about your store’s location that would contribute to that.

    Competition:

    Being aware of the competition near your location is important.

    • What are your competitors prices?
    • What merchandise do they sell that you do not?
    • Does your competition offer a loyalty program?
    • Is their store cleaner than yours?
    • What are their hours?

     Once you are aware of what your competition offers, you can use this to determine what you can do to drive more customers to your location over theirs. Studies have  shown that customers are willing to drive another 10 minutes to save a few cents per gallon on gas. If your store’s location is in a less convenient spot than your competitors, you may need to get creative and find ways to increase your foot traffic. Consider lowering your prices, offering deals on products, or even improving the overall cleanliness and organization of your store.  

     Accessibility:

    Your location determines the amount of volume you drive to your store. This is a case where a store surrounded by a lot of traffic flow could be a good thing. This could be both pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic. Make sure your parking lot is ideal, do you have handicap accessible parking?  Do you have enough parking space? Customers typically look for an easy accessible store, not far out of their way.

     Know Your Neighborhood:

    To improve your customer’s satisfaction, you should know your neighborhood and the people you are catering to. What are some places close to you?

    • Schools
    • Businesses
    • Homes
    • Universities
    The area around your store’s location could determine what goods you should carry, what goods are in greater demand, and what prices are your customers willing to pay. A store in a busy city, surrounded by businesses may be a great location for a coffee station. On the other hand, a store in a small town off the freeway may want to carry more travel sizes items such as toothpaste, deodorant, medicine, etc. Another example is a university, you would probably want to carry more of a variety of snacks and beer.

    Population:

    Another thing you should consider are the people who live in the area surrounding your location. Facts to consider are:

    • Income level
    • Nationalities
    • Languages
    • Ages
    • Housing – Houses or Apartments
    • Transportation

    These factors will impact not only the consumer products you should have in your store, but also the additional services you may consider offering.  For example, stores with a large amount of unbanked or underbanked customers should consider options like a Bill Pay service, prepaid phones, or even check cashing.

    Laws/ Regulation:

    Laws and regulations vary depending on the state you are in and it is important to be aware of that. One law that differs greatly state to state and city to city is tobacco. The laws can be changed by minimum age requirements, taxing, advertising restrictions, flavor bans, and other laws. Another regulation to be aware of are labor laws: minimum wage, age requirements, working hours, and more. To keep up with the latest laws and regulations for convenience stores, checkout: http://www.cspdailynews.com/industry-news-analysis/regulation-legislation