Hungry Consumers Migrating to C-Store Fresh Food

By-By restaurants, hello C-stores in 2019.  Consumers are choosing to get meals, meal components, snacks at C-store as chain restaurants price increases rise and customer counts continue to decline according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

A new report from GasBuddy revealed “More Americans Moving Beyond the Pumps and Into the Stores Americans are spending more time at gas stations, venturing into the convenience store and purchasing items including fresh food, beverages”

The report continued finding “More than half (55%) of consumer visits to fuel and convenience retailers lasted for longer than five minutes during Q1. This exceeds the average two to three minutes it takes to refuel a vehicle and reflects the industry’s emphasis on quality in-store offers”

Most important Gas Buddy found “that 60% of consumers purchase food and beverages at convenience stores.”   So where are they shopping?  Let’s see what the report found:

1.       Costco Claims the Top Spot captured the most foot traffic per station of any brand in any segment—more than four-and-a-half times the industry average.

2.       Ohio-based Speedway,

3.       Kentucky-based Thorntons,

4.       Texas-based Buc-ee’s

Foot traffic is a clear indication that consumers like your stores and sales are growing according to Johnson.  All of these stores offer grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food most of which is hand-held food for immediate consumption according to Johnson.  Wonder why your customer counts are falling?  We don’t we know.  C-store ability to focus on grocerant mix and match meal bundled options are the differentiator according to Johnson.

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call 1-253-759-7869

Fresh, Fast, Food Convenience Store Speedway Focus is on Speed

Success does leave clues and while Speedway has been known for it service, fresh, fast, flavorful, grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food the roughly 3,000 unit chain continues to evolve adapting to the evolving food focused consumer according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Consumers are dynamic not static as smart phones out number land lines more and more consumers have migrated to from cash to digital payment options.  So, customers at Speedway convenience stores can now use Apple Pay at checkout elevating service once again.

Johnson stated that Speedway’s updated digital payments are outstanding as a hand held Food Marketing tool.  It is one key tools that are the undercurrents driving incremental brand adoption putting a new electricity in brand relevance for many younger consumers specifically Millennial's.

Today, new partnerships can drive sales in foodservice today as your brand is searching for the new electricity to help drive the brand forward. So, just what is your brands new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new food products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, beer, developing brands, unique urban clothing, grocerant positioning, Fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different. 

Digital payment is big and getting bigger as Apple Pay is rolling out now in Target stores and more than 7,000 Taco Bell and 2,200 Jack in the Box locations in the next few months.  Customers can also use Apple Pay today at more than 245 Hy-Vee stores in the Midwest.

With the addition of these national retailers, 74 of the top 100 merchants in the U.S. and 65 percent of all retail locations across the country will support Apple Pay, according to the company.   Is your company keeping pace with consumers?

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or twitter.com/grocerant