Executive Summary

The Coresight Research team attended day one of the NACS Convenience Summit Europe 2018 in London on June 6. Here are our top takeaways from the day:

• Technology will play a key role in the future of convenience stores (c-stores). In digitalized c-stores, human employees will be assisted by computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) designed to enhance the shopping experience. Unstaffed c-stores will complement, rather than replace, staffed c-stores as part of companies’ multichannel strategies.
• C-stores need to meet the expectations of an increasingly curious, demanding and impatient consumer base. To better serve shoppers, many c-stores are turning into food-service locations.Shoppers dine in-store and retailers use technology such as digital displays that show different meal options to adapt stores to different dining occasions throughout the day.
• C-store shoppers want speed in general, and 30% of visitors to c-stores located in public transportation hubs have only two minutes for shopping. Self-checkout and innovative payment options help retailers deliver faster shopping experiences.
• Shopper behavior is changing as consumers visit stores more often, and that trend favors convenience shopping. However, discounters, which provide proximity shopping, present a competitive threat to c-stores. To ensure future growth, c-stores should focus on fresh food, which is currently the largest category, and one of the fastest-growing, in the c-store channel.