Even as it aims to double its store count, H&S Energy is leaning into digital ordering to grow online sales 10-fold at its stores.
The retailer operates more than 160 Extra Mile and Power Market convenience stores in California and plans to grow to 400 sites in coming years. At the same time, the retailer announced this month it intends to grow its proprietary online ordering and delivery program to $10 million in annualized sales in 2025.
"In the world of on-demand delivery, success is measured by speed, reliability and customer satisfaction,” said Sal Hassan, CEO and president. “We've consistently excelled in all these areas, and that's why we consider ourselves a true success story.”
H&S Energy originally launched its online ordering and delivery program with Vroom Delivery in 2021. This, among other initiatives, led CSP to include Fidaa Mohrez, director of operational systems, in its 2021 Power 20 list of convenience retailers who moved quickly to find avenues of sales when the pandemic slowed in-store traffic.
The program has since surpassed $1 million in annual sales and is approaching $2 million. The company’s goal now is to achieve $10 million in online sales through a combination of organic growth from marketing, new store launches and adoption of new Vroom Delivery digital commerce offerings.
Mohrez said one of the strengths of the program has been the chain’s commitment to keep prices down. "We promised to keep the prices in our delivery service the same as what you'd find in our stores, right from the start,” Mohrez said. “We didn't raise the prices, and we covered part of the delivery expenses ourselves. This way, our customers can enjoy the convenience of delivery without having to pay extra."
H&S’ delivery service is not just about delivering products; it's about delivering an experience, the company said. The company has leveraged technology to streamline the ordering and delivery process, ensuring that their customers receive their purchases quickly and conveniently. This includes leveraging Vroom Delivery’s Automated Menu Management (AMM) services, which allows stores to automatically list thousands of products online with no manual maintenance. H&S also offers a user-friendly mobile app that simplifies the shopping experience for its Power Market locations, it said, through app provider Rovertown.
- H&S Energy, Orange, California, ranked No. 51 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 list of the largest convenience-store chain in the country.
Going forward, H&S plans to more than double its store count to 400 stores, and with that, expand its digital offerings. This includes leveraging Vroom Delivery’s AMM and aggregation services to populate not only its proprietary ordering menus, but also its third-party marketplace offering, which will grow its marketplace menu offering by roughly 10 times. Other additions include leveraging Vroom Delivery’s Online EBT and loyalty integrations, Power Market+ subscriptions and in-store ordering via Vroom Delivery’s new Kiosk capabilities.
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