Self-service within convenience stores has been with us for a long time—it paved the way for consumers to take control over their needs and experience a more convenient way of doing things. However, very few past iterations were good examples of how retail user interactions should go, and as such, have limited the market expansion of self-service options.
Many consumers are about to be able to experience a wide variety of new opportunities available that offer not only more convenience, but also top quality products, personalization and service—all made possible by new, creative thinking. Let’s take a quick look at some of the best current examples of self service outlets that are doing it right, as well as the promising, changing future and what that means to the industry.
Best-in-class examples
The age of convenience is already underway. The drivers for it include higher expectations from customers as well as time-driven convenience. Many of these heightened expectations come from Amazon—which led the way with its quick, convenient shipping options, but a recent crop of solutions have offered up more combinations of self-service options. From security to convenience to quality, each category has a few best-in-class examples to point to.
Security: Grasshopper and Amazon Pickup, have addressed security in new ways to make sure the customer gets exactly what they want based on a secured profile. For the latter, unique pickup codes or barcodes are given to consumers who need to pick up a package, and only that specific code or barcode will grant access to the locker’s contents. This takes self-service to a new level, allowing customers to pick up packages from a location convenient to their home or work, without ever setting foot in a post office line.
Convenience: Moby and Shop 24, two mobile, app-controlled convenience stores, are available 24 hours a day and have flexible locations in convenient, easy-to-access places providing needed items when and where they’re needed the most. Moby, for instance, can be relocated based on need, and in the future, when autonomous vehicles are allowed on the road, they could even go all the way to the customer’s home. The company is also testing a set of drones to make small deliveries.
Quality: As consumers clamor for better quality foods and other products as well as easier-to-use technology, companies like Eatsa are leading the way. Eatsa is a fast-casual chain based in San Francisco, and uses an automat-style self-serve ordering process. There, customers use an in-store iPad or mobile app/site to order a customized meal, and the made-to-order bowl is delivered fast via a personalized cubby onsite. The chain features top quality ingredients like quinoa and offers craveable choices like falafel and harissa bites as well as desserts like a dark chocolate cake bite or a vegan ginger cookie.
Commerce’s promising future
These relatively recent developments provide the perfect setup for current best-in-class examples to deliver even better products with easier and more immediate access. Features like digital locking, profile sharing and better insights and predictive selections mean that the next generation of self service options will be more than just convenient—they’ll be personalized, creative, and will revolutionize the way consumers participate in commerce.
What this means to c-stores now
Falling traffic for in-store drivers, combined with high competition for the convenience customer and the competitive advantage of digital insights all adds up to new considerations for vending. For instance, the big question of “where” comes up—should vending be located: in the store, at the exterior wall or will it stand-alone?
The question of “what” is as big as the question of where. What market to appeal to, what demographic to offer products for, and what specific set of metrics will be used to determine program changes? Each c-store retailer needs to make their own decision, but many believe self-service options should be richly considered.
Authentic retail and the truth of change
The disruptors of the convenience store and self-service markets share a common trait through the many ways they change marketplaces. All elevate the experience by making that experience less expensive and more effective for the user. Self-service is poised to be a key disruptor in the c-store marketplace—that’s no question. The question is who will own this market—who is going to uncover the best way to build a model to create this disruption opportunity and who captures the customers interest in a business sustainable way?
HARBOR Makes Innovation Relevant: Retail Proof-of-Concept Kiosks and future thinking. HarborRetail.com
This post is sponsored by Harbor Industries