Convenience store coffee sales took a hit during the pandemic but have been back on the rise since 2021. Coffee cravers are back to fueling up with their daily caffeine dose at c-stores. With more people returning to the office, stopping at the local c-store for coffee is back to being a part of the daily routine. While coffee sales are recovering from the drop they experienced in 2020, the category is not recovering to the same degree as other beverage categories, according to NACS. Here are 3...
C-stores experienced a 6.2% growth in in-store sales in 2022, a record high according to c-store news’ state of the industry report. This means that store owners should take a look at their in-store shopping experience and ensure that everything is running smoothly.
Continue reading for your guide to improving the in-store shopping experience…
Convenience is key
Convenience is a top priority for customers and is a fundamental value for c-stores. According to CMSWIRE, 70% of customers are willing to pay more for a convenient shopping experience. This includes a swifts shopping experience in which customers can easily find what they need, quickly check out, and be on their way. To help improve convenience, be sure your shelves are kept neat, and your inventory is organized logically. You should also make sure your store has reliable payment processing so that the check-out process is a breeze for customers. Ultimately, it is important to make sure your convenience store truly is convenient.
Stay up to date on trends
It is important to know what products are relevant so that you can provide your customers with the inventory they want. Foodservice is a category that experienced more than a 20% increase last year and is expected to continue the upward trend in 2023. In addition, the industry expects to see more of an interest in healthy foods for c-stores. According to c-store news, 6 in 10 customers are unhappy with the current healthy offerings in store. It is important to keep up with consumer insights in order to ensure you are meeting the needs of your customers.
Optimize your store
As mentioned earlier, convenience is key, so it is important to optimize your store to ensure that your customers have the smoothest experience possible. 3 ways you can do this is by…
- Keep a clean store
By keeping your store neat, you can optimize traffic flow and ensure that customers can get in and out quickly.
- Strategic placement of products
Place best sellers in places where customers can easily find them. You can also place products at your checkout counter and near the checkout line so customers can continue to browse while they wait.
- Improve business practices
Check in on your business practices, automate where you can so that your employees can focus on running the store and assisting customers. For more tips on this topic, read this goEBT blog about the benefits of technology in c-stores.
As 2023 nears, be sure to prepare your store for another busy year. Make sure you try different ways to improve the in-store experience and find what works best for you and your customers.
