3 Ways C-Stores Can Reel in Millennials
By Brett Dworski on Aug. 25, 2017BOSTON -- Millennials—now the nation’s largest living demographic, according to the Pew Research Center—are a driving force in today’s convenience-store marketplace. They have high expectations for quality self-service and a personalized customer experience, and operators must continually innovate the convenience landscape to attract these tech-heavy consumers.
Recent insights from gas-price app provider GasBuddy show that millennials are projected to spend $200 billion this year. Also, today’s 18- to 34-year-olds make up a third—roughly 4 million—of Boston-based GasBuddy’s users, and those users hold great spending power, earning 11% more than nonusers of the same age.
Here are some marketing and customer experience strategies GasBuddy has seen trending in c-stores …
Brand innovation
Millennials are highly dependent on mobile devices. Eighty-seven percent say their smartphone never leaves their side, according to GasBuddy’s report. C-stores should use their internet and mobile app reputations to enhance their brand strategies, GasBuddy says, because millennials use online company profiles to observe a brand’s products, mission and more.
Minneapolis-based c-store 36 Lyn, for example, engages millennials' preference for smaller, local brands and clean labels by offering products ranging from chai and coffee to hot sauce and granola, according to GasBuddy. Independent 36 Lyn has enhanced its online brand presence by conveying these promotions via social media and apps.
More social media
Millennials’ attachment to their phones correlates with the growth of social media, and the generation is constantly using outlets such as Yelp and Facebook to review the products they’re purchasing. Instagram’s popularity among millennials has also risen in recent years, as shown in a Facebook survey that showed 18- to 34-year-olds now make up the bulk of the photo-sharing app’s users. GasBuddy points out that c-stores can stand out through social-media use in addition to posting about daily food specials and gas prices.
Promoting the in-store experience
Although online influence remains key, it’s still what happens in stores that determines if millennials will return in the future, GasBuddy says. A large portion of millennials prefer visiting brick-and-mortar stores compared to shopping online, according to a recent Accenture study.
GasBuddy cites Kum & Go and Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip as examples.
West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go launched its new Marketplace stores last year that feature a fresh-food market, open kitchen, outdoor seating, complimentary Wi-Fi, device charging stations and a beer cooler with domestic, imported and craft beer selections, as well as growlers to take home. QuikTrip opened its first nonfuel store last summer in Atlanta. The site is equipped with healthy, made-to-order food options and outdoor seating.
Such additions demonstrate ways a quality customer experience can help attract more consumers and drive profits, says GasBuddy.