Convenience stores need drive-thrus to compete with quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and fast casual dining, according to Howland Blackiston (left), principal at King-Casey. The consulting and design firm based in Westport, Connecticut, assists companies with drive-thrus, communications within the drive-thru and optimization of menu boards.
Blackiston spoke at the Conexxus conference in Fort Worth, Texas, this week. He was accompanied on stage with Steve McKinley (middle), CEO and founder of Urban Value Corner Store, McKinney, Texas, and Frank Beard (right), head of marketing at Rovertown, St. Louis. The trio discussed unique approaches to convenience stores.
“People look at a gas station and think it has to check certain boxes and think you shouldn’t color outside the lines. The reality is, you can do whatever you want,” said Beard.
King-Casey has been working in the c-store space for the last couple of years.
“The truth is, I haven’t seen much of that [c-store drive thrus],” said Blackiston. “If c-stores are truly going to be competitive with QSRs and fast casuals in the foodservice arena, they need to look at the convenience of having a drive thru because that’s everything to consumers using a QSR and even a fast casual.”
Foodservice is the second largest revenue category, and c-stores are modeling their stores based on that, he said.
“[C-stores have] improved their menus, they’ve improved their offerings,” said Blackiston. “But merely upgrading the food and beverages leaves consumer needs unaddressed. There’s more that can be done. The driving forces are that consumers prefer a touchless foodservice experience. They want the speed, they want convenience, they want the comfort of ordering from their car. In a typical QSR, upwards of 75% of the business is at the drive-thru.”
To build a successful drive-thru, Blackiston said to embrace the idea of continuously improving it. Starbucks is a prime example of staying on their toes.
The coffee chain recognizes that the drive thru is not just the order point. There are a collection of zones throughout the drive-thru, and each of those zones is an opportunity to promote and merchandise the foodservice program.
“The entry zone is a place where you can have communications introducing new products or limited-time offers. The pre-sell zone, right before the order point, is where you can promote items you most want them to purchase. The order zone, the menu board itself, is another zone. And there’s zones afterwards—post order, pickup and pay zone,” he said.
Starbucks embraced the idea that each of these zones is an opportunity to promote and communicate foodservice. So much so, Blackiston said, that they’ve developed quality improvement teams for each zone. They’ve truly embraced continual improvement in a very formal way.
It’s a game of strategy, though.
“The idea is often to put signs up everywhere that promote everything,” he said. “They don’t think about how customers really use the zone. Are they just breezing through it, or are they stopping where they have time to read something? They have certain needs.”
Another tip from Blackiston: Don’t sell general merchandise at the drive-thru.
“I don’t know of any way to make that happen in such a way that is convenient for your customer. Customers’ priority is speed, getting in and out fast, and if you start tacking on other merchandise, that’s going to slow it down,” he said.
Additionally, implement a POS system that separates drive-thru transactions from inside transactions, he advised, and use data to understand how to tweak and improve the ease of menu navigation.
Speed and accuracy are critical, so optimizing operations is important, too.
“Starbucks, when they were trying to optimize their drive-thru, had a bad record of accuracy, he said. “They did a study, and the problem turned out to be poor technology, poor communication devices. They couldn’t hear the orders very well, so they were placing them wrong. So they upgraded their communication system and that made all the difference.”
Leading QSRs have developed drive-thrus of the future that are really remarkable, Blackiston said.
“The convenience of the drive-thru is here to stay.”
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