What shoppers will want in the next 3 years

• Shoppers will become more demanding on issues like nutritional information and the environment. They will want to see clear evidence that THEIR retailer is going that extra mile.
• Customer loyalty will be driven by people working in the store, not the products or product brands. Shoppers will want to see committed, motivated staff – customer faced organisations will win in the long run.
• 35% of all meal occasions will be eaten out-of-home. Consumers will want to eat at the times they want to eat and not tolerate mid afternoon or post 7pm out-of-stocks.

• Gift shopping will be about last minute and premium purchasing. A great opportunity for the convenience sector, should they wish to exploit it. Opportunities for retailers to consider joint ventures with other outlets like Thorntons, etc. 

• Shoppers won’t all be looking for every day products, they may be looking for quick, efficient, increasingly healthy options. Understanding & tailoring ranges & layouts based on shopper missions will come to the fore. Retailers will need to consider innovative internal & external communication, marketing & merchadising to stand out from the crowd.

• Promotions will only be important to a select band of consumers – but it won’t make up for poor availability, service and range. There will always be people out there who love a good deal – but for some, promotions will be about highlight a product to tempt rather than the simple communication of established products at cheaper prices.

Shopper Gems

‘2 for 1’ Promotions Now The Most Preferred

Ten years ago, simple money off promotions was the preferred promotion mechanic for shoppers. Now, for the first time, it is two for the price of one deals that are the buzz-word. The question is are convenience stores now offering more of these promotions as a direct result of more BOGOF activity by supermarkets – and is it a dangerous game to replicate what goes on in the major multiple stores?

Newspapers – Visibility & Availability

Whilst retailers are focusing on new key drivers like fresh foods, spare a thought for traditional categories like newspapers, which remain a top 3 selling category across all sectors. Even those shoppers who don’t buy newspapers will usually glance over at the headline – potentially leading to cross-promotional opportunities. Most consumers are brand loyal to their preferred title so availability of these lines is crucial. The latest research shows that sales of newspapers double when papers are visible from the entrance of the door. And don’t rely exclusively on your sales data when ordering news – how often do you see out of stocks in the afternoons and evenings?

Gifts – A Growing Opportunity for Local Retailers

Have you noticed how some chains are starting to sell gift card for other main stream retailers like Argos or Debenhams? Nearly 50% of men now admit to buying gifts or presents in the last 24 hours before said due date!

‘Meal for Tonight’ Shoppers

5% of all convenience shoppers are on a ‘meal for tonight’ mission. But a third of these shoppers have no idea what they are going to buy once in the store. This sounds like a good opportunity to offer a solution by merchandising associated products together i.e. pizza and wine and at least having a core offer of minced beef or chicken breasts with appropriate sauces.

Crown Jewels

Never lose site of the fact that bread, milk and cigarettes are the crown jewels to a convenience store - these are the must-always-have-available lines. 35% of shoppers entire milk purchases are bought from C-stores and supermarkets don’t have it all their own way – 50% of smokers cigarette purchases are bought from convenience stores.

Alcohol Sold in Forecourts? – 1 in 4 Don’t Think So

Only three quarters of shoppers visiting a forecourt which sells alcohol failed to notice that it was available to purchase from the store. 90 % of shoppers at other convenience formats WERE aware that there store sells beers, wines and spirits – remember that the opportunity for forecourts is huge and that the relatively new development of selling alcohol in forecourts is not obvious or front of mind to shoppers. Shoppers tend to be younger, more professional shoppers where price is not as important as other factors and chilled and gifting options are key – once they know alcohol is sold in the store.

Counting the Cost of Out-of-Stocks

The biggest reason for failed purchases in a store is out-of-stock products. 47% of shoppers will not switch to another product, or wait until it becomes available again in the shop – they go elsewhere, And there is no guessing to where they go – 42% head straight for the Supermarket.

Top ten tips for forecourts

1. Install a ‘fast-lane’ chiller – more people arrive intending to buy drinks than actually buy. Bring high demand categories into the reach of the shopper, many of whom don’t want to walk to the back of the store to buy products
2. A shoppers time in a forecourt is short. Focus on cross-categories to aid their shopping experience.
3. 50% more forecourt shoppers are ‘upmarket’ compared to traditional stand alone convenience stores – introduce premium ranges and focus more on delivering quality service.
4. Only 68% of forecourt shoppers feel valued – customer service needs to come to the fore.
5. Sandwiches should be available from 7am through to the end of the evening as 40% of demand exists outside the noon to 3pm trading period.
6. Forecourts are all about snack and drink (it is the biggest single mission to forecourts) – are these all merchandised together? Are there secondary sitings within arms reach of the all important forecourt shop queue?
7. 72% of consumers now look for healthy options. Consider introducing fruit and other healthy snacks in the impulse lane.
8. Consider different queuing systems for shop and for fuel.
9. Visit frequencies remain low for forecourts. Know which categories drive up footfall and how to focus on them.
10. 82% of shoppers failed to notice external promotional messages – where exactly are those forecourt posters? Are they located where the shopper can see them when filling up or are they obscured from view. Try to look from the shoppers point of view.

Quick Tips

Use leaflets

to highlight promotions but to also communicate range, new and local products. Research has shown that those shoppers who receive leaflets visit the store more often, have a greater range awareness and spend more.

Keep all product lines well stocked

out of stocks are responsible for 34% of all missed sales.

Use creative wastage

if papers look like they may get left over by the end of the day, find ways to ‘give them away’ for extra sales i.e, “spend over £X in-store and get a free newspaper or a free newspaper with every carwash.

Implement promotions

based on shopper missions to encourage shoppers to buy incremental purchases e.g. ‘meals for tonight’ promotions on wine and ready meals.

Make use of external displays

e.g. news, flowers, coal or charcoal. Often these are poorly merchandised, poorly stocked and not priced clearly – and yet they may formulate a customers first impression on the shop offer.