A key consumer demographic is moving back to the city, and trend-setting convenience-store chains are making the move with them, hoping to provide the 24-7 convenience they need in their busy lives.
In 2000, half of the U.S. population lived in a suburban area, according to census data. However, the growth rate for suburbs began to slow after a decade of acceleration and is now making its way back into city neighborhoods. The key demographic making the move? Millennials.
CSP magazine takes a deep look into this move back into urban locations in the cover story of its June issue. Here, take a look at some of the c-store chains that are making the move, and the store formats they've developed to lure this lucrative consumer.
7-Eleven Inc., Dallas, is focusing on about two dozen metropolitan markets for greater growth, including Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Antonio and the San Francisco Bay area. Among the site requirements, according to Bloomberg Business: a working and residential population of at least 15,000 within a half-mile that includes a sizable percentage of 18- to 34-year-olds, as well as nearby public transportation and a strong area nightlife. An example of the c-store giant’s most modern urban approach opened in New York’s Financial District in 2013, featuring a redesigned logo, wide aisles, touch-screen ordering for made-to-order food, a seating area and a kegstyle soda dispenser.
Supermarket giant Ahold USA unveiled its Everything Fresh urban concept in Philadelphia in 2014, squeezing organic produce, chopped made-to-order salads and take-home sushi platters into a 3,000-square-foot Center City location. According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, Ahold now plans to expand the concept to eight locations in Center City. Everything Fresh spokesperson Suzi Robinson described the store as “an independent innovation space where teammates and customers can test and trial new ideas to change the grocery shopping experience.”
In February, Sheetz Inc. opened Sheetz at U Place, a 15,000-square-foot site on the ground floor of a student apartment complex in Morgantown, W.Va., home of West Virginia University. The store features indoor and outdoor seating and focuses squarely on the chain’s made-to-order foodservice and groceries.
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