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Archive for the ‘Convenience Stores’ Category

Women Still the Gatekeepers, But…

Friday, May 18th, 2012

It’s accepted wisdom in retailing that women dominate shopping in all channels except convenience stores.

But men are catching up.

Between 2004-2010, trip shares for men increased in all retail channels except drug stores.[1]Spending by men at grocery still lags behind that of women ($44.43 per trip vs. $34.81). but the difference at dollar and warehouse club stores is just $3 and $5 respectively per trip. The sexes show no significant differences in online shopping, with 72% of women and 68% of men having shopped online in the past 30 days. The highest age group for online shopping activity was 35-54 (74%), with women dominating most purchase categories except music, auctions and computer hardware.


[1] Source: Nielsen.

Posted in Consumer Trends and Habits, Convenience Stores, Retailing | No Comments »

C-Stores Continue to Pressure Restaurants & Grocers

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Anyone who’s surprised by this should be horse-whipped:

A report from NPD Group[1] shows the average number of visits consumers made to a c-store in an average 30-day period in the second quarter of 2010 was up 6.4% over the 6.1 visits during the same time in 2009. The trend is being driven by consumers’ need for convenience, as well as the growing selection of far offered by the stores. Analysts predicted the trend will continue and offer challenges both to the retail and foodservice sectors.

[1] Source: NPD’s “Convenience Store Monitor,” which tracks the purchasing behavior of more than 49,000 U.S. convenience-store shoppers.

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Opportunities in C-Store Retailing

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

With the trend towards “healthy” or at least “better for you,” convenience stores are trying to leverage the opportunity to grow their grocery business.

Traditional retailers have a 96% penetration of households in the prepared foods category, C-stores have just 10%).[1]

Convenience stores are by definition “grab & go” destinations, and healthy snacking (usually very un-healthy) could be the answer. Deli-prepared foods make up 60% of deli sales in the traditional grocery channel, with growth over the previous year in chicken (mostly rotisserie chicken), deli sandwiches, dips, spreads and toppings (mostly hummus), sushi and pizza (both slice and whole take-and-bake pizzas).

Snacking is being led by fresh foods suppliers, with some offering products tailored to the channel, including Chiquita (exclusive Stay Fresh Pack to extend shelf life that keeps bananas ripe up to seven days longer), Burger King licensee Crunch Pak with mini bags of sliced apples and fruit cups designed to fit into car cup holders. Because c-store deliveries are less-often than grocers (usually once a week), freshness (and shrinkage) is a major problem: perishables have 7-12 days shelf life, so shrinkage averages 2-6% at the upper end and 8-13% on average. Pricing is also a challenge for c-stores, given the big swings in promotional pricing by grocery chains and national promotions by brands. C-stores also struggle just to handle perishable products, which require 34-40 degrees refrigeration with chilled distribution from DC (distribution center) to store.

It won’t be easy, however. 7-Eleven’s top seller remains cigarettes, but it hopes to grow food sales in its 6,200 stores from the current 3-4% to 10% by rolling out signature items like Buffalo wings, a croissant breakfast sandwich and hot dogs made with Angus beef. Taking a page from grocery stores, it’s even installing 7-Eleven TV to blare out local news, weather, and guess what? ads for 7-Eleven products. The promise in the category is there, but questions remain about the chain’s execution at providing more than old hot dogs on rollers.

[1] Source: Nielsen Homescan Panel research.

 

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7-Eleven Dreams Big

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

7-Eleven, Inc. is the U.S.’s largest convenience store chain with 7,800 outlets, and has long wanted to challenge Burger King, McDonald’s and other QSRs for the fast food consumer.

As part of that dream, they are expanding their hot food menu, testing new offerings at 115 stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Consumers can have pizza, chicken tenders, chicken wings, breakfast sausage, egg and cheese quesadillas, with hash brown potatoes on the side. Prices from 79c (for two hash browns) to $2.99 for chicken wings to $9.99 for a large pizza. Mike Hansen, fresh foods manager, says “7-Eleven now has a system that can deliver it hot and fresh, day or night.” Most QSRs have limited late-night openings.

Stores will be added on an “by invitation only” basis tied to overall sales, fresh foods and grill sales, and hiring three order writers. Hardware requirements include a new high-speed TurboChef combi-oven Other food initiatives include launching the 7-Select private label brand featuring cookies, candy, nuts, potato chips, beef jerky, trail mix, chocolate-covered pretzels, coffee espresso beans, raisins and peanuts. Prices for 7-Select are 10%-20% below national brands. The company has also introduced some “healthier” items, Weight Watchers snack cakes and muffins, Larabar all-natural raw food bars, and Mega protein bars.

Of course, it remains to be seen if the “beer & ciggies” demographic of the c-store will even be interested in healthier-for-you.

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Posted in Convenience Stores, Retailing | No Comments »