ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Price, quality, variety and freshness: These are often the most common reasons consumers give for not visiting convenience stores for foodservice.
But a more complex obstacle exists.
“Perhaps the biggest deterrent is that for many consumers, c-stores just aren’t on their radar,” said Kelly Weikel, director of consumer insights at Chicago-based Technomic. Fifty-one percent of consumers told Technomic that they simply don’t think to visit convenience stores for fresh prepared food.
A key way to overcome that hurdle, posits Technomic, is store design.
So Technomic partnered with retail branding and design firm Chute Gerdeman to survey consumers on c-store foodservice usage, drivers and deterrents. They then used Columbus, Ohio-based Chute Gerdeman’s expertise to create some food-forward convenience-store renderings, using them to elicit feedback from consumers on whether certain design elements would help change their mind about c-store foodservice.
Weikel, along with Chute-Gereman’s vice president of retail environments Lynn Rosenbaum, revealed their findings at CSP/Winsight’s C-Store Foodservice Forum earlier this month. The two firms also will be sharing findings from the project, including a look at the store designs themselves, at Winsight’s FARE Conference, held in Dallas next month.
The 3,500-square-foot models put foodservice front-and-center in the store. “It’s absolutely the hero,” said Rosenbaum. “They need to see that you’re in the business and you’re serious about it.”
Consumers’ feedback of the renderings generated a handful of key takeaways for Technomic, Chute Gerdeman and C-Store Foodservice Forum attendees.
1. Made-to-order isn’t the only—or even the best—way to convey freshness and taste. The respondents rated the self-serve format quite favorably and, likewise, hot and cold food bars received high marks for speed and convenience as well as freshness. The ability to get up close and personal with the food was important to respondents—something you can’t do with made-to-order programs.
2. Make signage clear and helpful. Ensure customers know where to go to order and pick up food and find condiments. These elements were very important to respondents, particularly for made-to-order programs.
3. Offer a variety of seating. Consider both high and low tables, seating conducive to solo diners, and even a lounge area if it makes sense for your offering and clientele. Outdoor seating and eating bars next to windows also were positive attributes for respondents, as were seating layouts near condiment and beverage stations.
4. Spaciousness is important. Don’t cram your space with seating and service areas, but also take a good, hard look at what percent of your total store sales are from foodservice. Are there retail products that aren’t doing well that you could eliminate to make more room for foodservice?
5. Follow the trifecta of good store design. Create a warm and welcoming area, convey cleanliness, quality and freshness, and maintain speed and convenience. These three elements should be the bedrock of any food-forward c-store design.
Click here for more details on the 2016 FARE Conference.
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