In the vast retail landscape, convenience stores are easily overlooked. However, if you’re a retailer or small business searching for new ways to build your customer base and increase sales, you may want to look at the practices of the modern convenience store.
The c-store model has takeaways that can be applied to stores of all sizes and across industries. We’ll share a few from Retail Dive below.
Lessons for Retailers from Convenience Stores
Get Back to Basics
Why do people shop at convenience stores? It’s in the name: convenience. These are neighborhood stores that carry what their customers want and need. Figure out what that essential part of your brand is, and make sure it is at the forefront of all your decisions.
Stay Local
Because c-stores are so locally focused, many carry locally created or owned products. That helps customers to feel more connected to a store – and more likely to return. Try to incorporate local products into your store’s offering, and display them prominently.
Create a Memorable Experience
Convenience stores are a place to try something new. It’s fun to look through the aisles and find a new snack or drink that you’ve never seen before. This is possible because most c-stores are individually owned, with that local focus we discussed above. Customers love being surprised, so why not work some new and exciting products into the mix? Just make sure offerings don’t stray too far from your core brand or product lines.
Incorporate Technology
From self-service checkout kiosks to the latest point of sale hardware or software, retail technology can significantly improve the customer experience.
Retail Tech carries a wide variety of new and refurbished POS hardware and equipment. We offer installation and staging, retail point of sale system repairs, and more. If you need help choosing a hybrid POS solution, contact our POS systems specialists for help finding the perfect point of sale solution for your retail store, restaurant or other small business.
