With college students always on the go, convenience retail is beginning to quicken its pace.
Artificial intelligence-powered small-markets are now campus convenience hubs, including Quick Eats, an AI-driven convenience store for students at Tulane University, New Orleans. The store opened last month on its Uptown New Orleans campus at 31 McAlister Drive.
Designed to eliminate checkout lines, Tulane Hospitality, the university’s department and brand responsible for all on-campus dining, catering and concessions said Quick Eats features no-wait, cashier-free retail and convenience options, from ready-to-go snacks and fresh produce to personal care essentials.
“College students are always on-the-go, and benefit from the Quick Eats service model,” said Sam Gautreau, marketing manager at Tulane Hospitality.
Leveraging advanced technology, Quick Eats utilizes surveillance vision and smart weight sensors to track items as customers pick them up—or put them back—ensuring fast and frictionless service.
Without cashiers, lines or self-checkout kiosks, Quick Eats guarantees speed and efficiency.
This lightning-fast convenience experience is growing on college campuses. In January, Sodexo, a foodservice provider for schools, said it plans to open Food Hive campus “convenience stores” at colleges nationwide, with a goal of up to 100 of the frictionless markets by 2026.
“We know that Gen Z prefers shopping experiences that support their community while getting what they want as fast as possible with frictionless checkout,” said Drew Nannis, Sodexo Campus head of marketing.
But this is where I wonder—is it what today’s students need to succeed? I certainly don’t need to remind anyone that this is the generation raised on one-click everything. Isn’t it important to consider that, just maybe, these students, whose schedule never sleeps, might need a convenience store that promotes a slower pace?
While some campuses race toward frictionless convenience retail, others are creating spaces that invite students to enter a slower pace.
I am not alone in this thinking. Last month I came across a local news report from the News-Gazette, Champaign, Illinois, about a new convenience store with a lunch counter opening in downtown Champaign. Haypenny Market will be located at 115 N. Market St.—a stone’s throw from the campus of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Vaughn Kimberley, one of the co-owners, told the News-Gazette the store will feature a lunch counter that will be like a “five-and-dime Woolworth’s type of place from a bygone era.”
It will be interesting to see if convenience retail that encourages pause and human interaction near a busy campus succeeds. After all, retail isn’t just a race to be the fastest—it can also be a place where students slow down and connect.
If this were Aesop’s fable, I’d place my bet on Haypenny Market, the tortoise— because slow and steady wins the race.
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