C-Stores Use the Power of Social Media to Increase Sales

Social media has become its own moving force with not only millennials but all generations. As we all come to terms that some grandmothers and tweens are on FB watching our every move, social media has become a powerful business tool – so much so that even college and university c-stores are using it to drive students to purchase from their stores on campus.

"[Seventy-nine] percent of the college students we surveyed reported that they were purchasing food at convenience stores on campus, as opposed to only 22 percent in the previous study,” said Sharon Olson, executive director of Y-Pulse. “It is exciting to see that campus c-store operators have been so effective in attracting student consumers to their stores."

And even if your grandmother is not prevalent on social media, 78% of the U.S population has a social media profile, according to Statista, a statistics company. On top of which, 2.2 billion people use social media worldwide.

With these powerful numbers, it is no shocker to understand that three quarters of people in the food service industry use social media tools to engage with their c-store and retail customers. Because of this, there was a 26% increase since 2010 of students reporting to purchase food on campus.

Here are the social media platforms students used to get the latest news about food options on campus:

• Facebook: 90%
• Twitter: 86%
• Website: 80%
• Instagram: 60%

Therefore, imagine what social media can do for you c-store? Your customers can easily access your latest sales, trends, and events while perusing the internet as an already established routine every day. 

According to Adweek.com, 18% of social media users cannot go a few hours without checking Facebook and 28% of iPhone users check Twitter before getting up in the morning. Therefore, there is a huge opportunity to close a gap in sales!

With Gilbarco’s Applause TV system, while customers spend 3-4 minutes pumping gas, they can not only watch advertisements and promotions, but also have the ability to use social media through Applause TV to tweet, FB and more any sales your c-store is throwing.

To learn more about how you can use social media through Applause TV, click here.