The convenience store industry is at a pivotal turning point when it comes to technology. With the COVID-19 pandemic showcasing an increased need for tech development—and adoption—the industry has now gone into overdrive. Now, as retailers seek to implement technology that will provide a competitive advantage for years to come, they must be careful about the solutions providers that they choose.
According to Technomic’s March 2021 Technology Insights report, 68% of foodservice operators (and likely a similar number of c-stores) say they intend to increase their technology budgets over the next two years. The report also forecasts that both consumer-facing amenities and back-of-house tools, including POS integration, scheduling software and inventory management tools, will be at the center of innovation.
Not all solutions are equally suitable for each store, however, and not all solutions are equally scalable or sustainable for continued success in the future. To maximize ROI on their tech investments, retailers should keep a few key priorities in mind.
Quick service
C-store customers prioritize speedy, hassle-free experiences. For retailers, smooth transactions on the forecourt are a key point of differentiation and an important prerequisite to earning customers’ loyalty—and improving efficiency for customers paying at the pump is especially important as retailers say they expect fuel traffic to increase in the next six months, according to Technomic’s April 2022 C-Store Operator Update.
For many retailers, this will mean ensuring each customer can choose a payment option that works for them while keeping operations streamlined behind the scenes, such as via an IoT platform connected to a cloud service.
Lightening the labor load
Indeed, dependability and ease of use are equally important for customers as they are for employees. Most c-store retailers say their stores are understaffed, according to Technomic’s Oct. 2021 C-Store Operator Update; new technology additions ought to make daily operators run more smoothly rather than creating additional challenges to address.
For this reason, investing in quality hardware and software from a trusted supplier—one that provides timely support if needed—is crucial. Technologies from Invenco, for example, are both designed and manufactured internally to meet extensive quality-assurance requirements and industry certifications and to fulfill retailers’ changing needs and priorities in the future. Their solutions are designed to be easily monitored and fixed should something break down.
Solutions built to adapt
Scalable, flexible technologies are necessary for maximizing ROI on the c-store’s tech budget, and Invenco solutions are made to continually adapt to the dynamic convenience industry. Invenco’s self-service payment processing and customer engagement solutions enable c-stores to quickly pivot according to regulatory shifts and customer trends and to keep retailers informed with real-time data from each terminal across the business.
To learn more about how Invenco solutions can help retailers succeed both now and, in the future, visit www.invenco.com.
This post is sponsored by Invenco