NACS Convenience Summit Europe 2018: Technology Helps C-Stores Turn to Fresh Food and Food-Service Offerings

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.