LAS VEGAS -- Competition does not breed innovation. It breeds continuity.
That was Steve Miller’s take on convenience-stores today and why it seems so difficult to innovate. Miller is a self-titled marketing "gunslinger" who makes a living advising various industries on marketing. He was joined at the 2018 NACS Show in Las Vegas by Ryan Riggs, senior vice president of Global Partners and formerly of Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz. Miller and Riggs spoke about ways c-stores can set themselves apart in a world where the very idea of convenience is constantly being redefined.
The education session was hosted by Kim James, senior director of the global center of excellence and merchandising and marketing for Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.'s Circle K.
In a conversation focused on competition, Amazon haunted the room, and Miller and Riggs agreed the online retailer’s attention to the customer experience is what sets it apart. “They’ve created a very easy, seamless process that was a vast improvement on the way we used to do things,” said Riggs.
Miller agreed, and believes Amazon is on a different playing field than c-stores entirely. “It’s easy to say they don’t like you, but they don’t even think of you,” he said. “They don’t even use the word convenience.”
The question then was how to improve the c-store model to make it easier to compete. Miller suggested looking outside of the industry for inspiration. He recounted bringing Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar executives to the American Girl store in downtown Chicago to show them how a completely different business made money. “We could see how they interacted with customers and learn from them,” he said.
James suggested a similar strategy, but with businesses that more directly compete with c-stores. “Have you gone into grocery stores? Have you gone into dollar stores in that 2- to 3-mile radius where you’re located?” she said.
Specifically, Riggs encouraged attendees to embrace self-checkout. “Six checkouts for one employee helps with labor and helps with the experience,” he said. He also touted mobile ordering as a promising technology to explore. “I think the firms that win are going to be the ones that combine the experience inside with the experience outside at the pumps,” he said.
All three presenters agreed that c-stores need to look beyond what is immediately around them for the next big retail innovation. “Don’t think about just climbing out of the box. Build your own box,” Miller said. “Create your own rules of competition. If you don’t do that, you’re saying you’re going to allow your future to be dictated by someone else.”
Photograph: Shutterstock
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.