Nearly 30% of sales today come through digital channels for foodservice in convenience, said Matt Van Gilder, vice president of omnichannel at NexChapter.
In the future, it appears that digital sales will surpass 50% of sales, said Van Gilder of the Des Moines, Iowa-based consulting firm helping retailers with loyalty, retail media and digital commerce strategy.
Van Gilder spoke Tuesday about foodservice and e-commerce at CSP’sConvenience Retailing University in Austin, Texas. He spoke with Mike Templeton, partner and vice president at NexChapter.
The digital channel is the new front door of the convenience store and one of the primary ways customers are finding a business and its offerings, Van Gilder said. He added that this channel is shaping the way retailers communicate with customers.
“That digital channel becomes the conduit by which you are reminding the customer about what you’ve got, and you know what they like, so you’re being very specific and offering them promotions to try to bring them back,” he said. “So, that becomes the center around which you’re operating.”
Van Gilder said some quick-service restaurants, such as McDonald’s and KFC, already are above 50% of sales in digital, and Chipotle is almost at 40% of sales through digital.
“We’re seeing similar types of profiles in terms of foodservice reaching or exceeding this number already,” he said. “So, we know this is the direction that we’re going.”
Retailers who already are embracing digital are seeing strong results, he said.
“For those that are in the top 25% of driving digital volume across the industry, they’re seeing digital penetration up to 62% of their total sales,” which reinforces that this trend is happening now, Van Gilder said.
It's something retailers can take advantage of and grow now, he said.
“So, the big takeaway here is that we can think about these things together to get more out of them,” Van Gilder said. “It’s not a one plus one equals two. We believe it’s a one plus one equals three. Building foodservice and e-commerce together is going to drive the business forward.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.