The Current C-Store Landscape
The timing of this conversation couldn’t have been better – with NACS releasing its annual State of the Industry report, we got a lot of new insights including:
- The US fuel market is resilient
- Gas margins are stable
- Cigarette sales are declining, but other tobacco products are seeing growth
- Expenses are up
That last one hurts, but as Frank puts it, “we need to be able to operate our sites more efficiently. We need to improve uptime and lower maintenance costs and use technology to drive efficiency."
Luckily, Frank touched on that a little later in this conversation.
Navigating this Unsteady Macroeconomic Moment
Frank gave retailers three really good pieces of advice on dealing with this current climate:
- “It’s all about controlling the controllables.”
Things like fuel prices are market-driven, so it’s important to focus on the things you do control, like your customer experience. - “Be cognizant of the consumers coming in.”
They’re hurting too in this environment. Offering them friendly service, value for their money, and the products that they want to purchase goes a long way. - “Watch your expense lines, watch these category changes, and if you have some opportunities to use technology, some of it is groundbreaking and really helpful.”
Technology mentioned again! Let’s look deeper at that now.
Elaine’s Thoughts: “We see this moment as an opportunity for retailers as they may see an increase in visits if people aren’t filling up the tank all the way, and consumers will continue to look for those affordable treats which we excel at in this space.”
The Impact of Technology
“Technology is at the core of the customer experience.” Frank spoke quite a bit about the importance of solutions that increase uptime and how preventative maintenance drives higher levels of efficiency.
That not only helps the issue of expenses being up, but it also helps provide your customers with a better experience. He spoke about technology from the customers perspective – how they want to “order on their phone, be rewarded with loyalty, and have a frictionless environment.”
On AI: Frank says that the opportunity with AI is, “very big.” He doesn’t see it as something that replaces the jobs your team is doing in the store, but rather something that drives efficiency so that your team can focus on providing better service to your customers.
Managing inventory, predicting sales, ordering, and replenishing products. Those are areas Frank thinks AI can play a big role. “Customers come to us when they run out of what they’re craving. We should never run out of stock.”
Elaine’s Thoughts: “Technology has a huge potential to help retailers manage those rising expenses by improving uptime and helping streamline their operations.”
If Frank was Operating a C-Store...
...he’d be looking at how to use technology to, “take away friction points.” Your customers have a choice of which c-store they want to stop at, “if you can make it super convenient for them – ordering, payment, loyalty, the ability to do more than one thing on a trip – that's really crucial.”
Frank talked about looking for technology suppliers that offer interoperability and connectivity across devices and touchpoints.
Elaine’s Thoughts: “One of the things that we’re trying to help enable is a consistent consumer experience across every touchpoint on the forecourt. That way it’s the same experience whether I’m at the car wash, or I’m at the gas pump, or I’m charging, or I’m inside the store.”
The Bottom Line
Consumers are always going to go where they can find the most value. But that doesn’t always mean what’s the cheapest.
Ensuring you’re providing the best experience for your customers, your staff is friendly and attentive, and that you have quality and range of offerings can be more impactful than price alone.
Don’t Think Frank Forgot Foodservice
If you know Frank Gleeson, you know he loves talking foodservice. In fact, he had enough to say for its own blog!
Check out why Frank says, “foodservice is still growing beautifully,” in part two of The Road Ahead.