What was most successful for you in 2024 in terms of best products as well as best merchandising techniques?
In merchandising, we found room for an extra shelf in our ice cream doors, which has been great for adding more variety and using our space more efficiently. In terms of a successful item, Mini Melts have consistently done very well for us. This year, I’m excited to be adding an innovative product this spring – Trolli Gummi Pops. This is a frozen treat in cool flavors like cherry-lemon and grape-strawberry. It combines sweet and sour flavors, a gummy candy texture and it’s frozen. Trolli gummies are popular with the younger shoppers, so I think this is going to be a great addition for us.
What’s a key goal you’ve set for 2025?
A key goal for us is boosting customer count and foot traffic. That means offering products that are relevant and what people are looking for. We rely on data to identify gaps in our offerings to make sure we have what people want. We’ll also run promotions, with a very aggressive promotion planned for ice cream this summer. It will feature some new flavors and frequency discounts. We added Jeni’s products last year, and now the Trolli pops. In health and beauty care (HBC), we’ve added Liquid I.V. in every store, as well as more sugar-free items, and that’s done well for us.
What’s your biggest category challenge?
With center store, the biggest challenge for me is finding space for innovative products. We try to keep a clean sales floor and finding space for incremental categories in an already full store is hard. Another big challenge is shrinkage. We’ve seen an increase in shrinkage (theft) in stores as we’ve had tougher economic times. It’s a hard problem to solve.
How do you address customer preferences in various parts of the country, or rural vs. suburban or metropolitan?
At Wawa, we planogram at the regional level. We have three markets, the Mid Atlantic, the Southeast and soon, the Midwest. We look at market data and collaborate with our vendor partners to plan our product assortment. Rather than study data of a particular city or ZIP Code, we address the market overall. This means stores in the markets will carry the same products and have generally the same layouts. Customers seem to like knowing the Wawas in their region will be familiar with consistent offerings.
What is something that excites you this year?
Wawa will be opening its first travel center in May in North Carolina. It is our first store built to cater to professional drivers. Automotive and general merchandise are in my areas of responsibility, and I’m excited to be adding 120-130 items that serve the professional driver’s needs and wants. These are items you won’t find in any other Wawa. It’s a great new opportunity for us.