So I’ve been reading up on the grocery industry a lot lately.
But don’t worry. I am fıercely loyal, and my devotion lies fırmly on the convenience side of the retail tracks. I am, after all, the editor of Convenience Store Products magazine—though you will likely start seeing my byline in CSP more often as I begin to focus some of my retail expertise on the grocery and general merchandise categories.
Retail expertise such as:
- I have 4,000 children and a tendency to exaggerate. I know a thing or two about how they eat and how that cute pair of sparkly sunglasses showed up on my receipt. I also instinctively know where the aspirin is in every c-store I visit. There may be no correlation.
- I am a Green Bay Packers fan (Go Pack, Go!) and have spent some quality time perusing the pennants and coffee mugs at truckstops and c-stores across the great state of Wisconsin since 1976.
- I eat lunch and have fırsthand knowledge of which items taste best in our microwave at work. I also know how long to wait before peeling back the clear plastic fılm—though regardless of how long I wait, the inside of my mouth inevitably suffers third-degree burns. More research is needed.
- The best car I’ve ever driven was a manual two-door Ford Escort hatchback circa 1993 named Little Red. This petite hot rod had me very familiar with where to fınd the motor oil (drip, drip), antifreeze (Wisconsin) and windshield-wiper fluid (mayflies).
- I am so tired. Now, where did I put that energy shot?
Our industry is in the midst of a competition for convenience. And that game has opponents with their eyes trained squarely on what you all already do incredibly well. That’s why I’m devoting some of my time to studying these trends, fıguring out ways that we too can learn from our omnichannel competition, and studying up on the general-merchandise and grocery categories to help identify growth opportunities in those areas within your stores. I’ve got my work cut out for me.
Now where is that energy shot!?
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.