Changing the world for better... at least the world of gas stations)

Tag: Customer service

And you don’t need to go far. Why do customers more often choose “convenience stores”?

These days people are buying at discounters and convenience stores rather than in large format hypermarkets. Nielsen analysts have also mentioned these noticeable changes in the trading formats. 

There is an obvious fact that the market is being changed and the largest Russian retailers are not an exception. The retailers are rapidly reformatting retail shops.

X5 Group announces that the hypermarket market in Russia will be reduced by 0.3 trillion rubles, but the convenience store segment will be grown by 1.5 trillion rubles. Regarding this trend, the retailer has abandoned the Karusel hypermarkets and opened the Pyaterochka convenience store. The Lenta retailer and the Utkonos online retailer have also announced their intention to develop the convenience store segment. 

What’s going on? I propose to consistently find out the reasons for the changes. 

The convenience store is a format that has gotten an increased interest from consumers around the world for a few years. The Russian market is not an exception and the local shops where people can find almost anything they need has become more popular especially during a period of pandemics and restrictions. The main advantage of the convenience store is proximity. Buyers do not want to waste time and money to reach distant hypermarkets and prefer to visit the shops 10-15 minutes away from home. Retailers understand these needs and make changes according to a new trend. 

New compact formats implementation

Large retailers have begun to actively implement the new formats. What are the reasons for these business decisions? I definitely can announce a complex of factors. 

1. Decreasing hypermarket traffic;

2. Pandemic restrictions and the need to shop in the stores with a few visitors.

Bright trends of consumer behavior have been formed and taken by large retail chains. 

1. Rare store visiting and buying for future use

As I have already mentioned above, the pandemic has affected store visiting. 

People do not want to visit large stores where hundreds of customers are in line and choose local stores next to their homes. These days they do not go to the stores often, but make purchases for future use. Retailers are talking about a decrease in-store visits and an increase of the average check by 20%. During the pandemic, groceries, meat delicacies, household chemicals, and cosmetics sales have been increased significantly.

2. Discounts hunt

Consumers tend to save money and look for promotional products. Every second shop visitor check contains discount goods. As a result, we get an increase in private-label goods and promotional goods sales.

3. Cooking at home 

Remote work, pandemic restrictions, and income decrease affect the habits of Russian consumers. People buy stock products more often as well as they cook at home.

 In addition to cooking, people also make cosmetic procedures, do sports at home. As a result of these changes, there is a trend of increased demand for private labels in such categories as grocery, confectionery, dairy products, and household chemicals. 

The retail sphere is being changed as well as the customers

The “poor health” of hypermarkets and changing consumer habits make Russian retail reformat. Retailers are reducing their shop space and opening city-format stores — with an area of ​​less than 5 thousand square meters. 

Convenience stores, discounters, retail outlets are perhaps the fastest-growing format in 2021. The Magnit retail chain plans to open 1–1.5 thousand “convenience stores” annually until 2025. «Lenta» retail chain has launched the first «Mini Lenta» store and as the future business strategy wants to launch small area shops equipped with built-in trade equipment, coffee machines, a grill area, and vending machines.

I am sure that the current trend will be popular. And I mean not only the local retail stores, which are usually located on the first floors of residential buildings but also gas station shops. 

The technological base they are built on gradually turns them into modern complexes of various services and makes them attractive for thousands of consumers. 

You can always rely on the experts when there is a need to launch a successful roadside shop and develop small-format stores.

For many years the Rainblade company has been implementing technological solutions that are efficient to reach high business performance especially in shops with limited space and traffic, and we also know how to make this business meet the latest modern trends.

McDonald’s Serves Free Fries for Every Order Through Mobile Device

McDonald’s is planning to make its all customers place orders through their mobile devices. Free fries are supposed to give consumers boost when using Smartphone’s to order food.

McDonald’s mobile app

No One Beats the Irish Coffee, Even Starbucks

We are being told of how many great advantages coffee chains have in the global perspective. However, a few independent coffee shops are eager to join huge chains and lose their authentic and exclusive approach once and for all. Why is this happening? Are they mad to lose tons of revenues? Or is there any other reason for independent service providers to stay in the shadow of world’s biggest coffee chains like Starbucks? Let’s figure it out.

Fast-Casual Concept Boosts Today’s Fast-Food Revival

Originated in the United States at the beginning of the 90s, the fast-casual concept has grown into a new dining trend. Spotted by some biggest names in the fast-food industry like KFC and McDonald’s, the legendary concept has launched the new revival for the entire niche covering huge areas from the world’s biggest metropolises to entire countries. What’s the fuss all about?



Gas Station “Boredom” Stage and Steps to Avoid It

The latest research has revealed top 5 most loved gas station chains in the United States. Shell takes the lead followed by some other big names in the fuel industry including EXXON, BP and some more. However, leaders should hardly lay back and be satisfied with the state of thing. All 5 companies are inevitably approaching the “boredom” stage. What is it and what are the steps to avoid that stage?

How to Develop C-Store Foodservice: from Basic to Premium Level

Defining an industry is crucial for c-store chains as well as independent retailers. According to the latest report, the level of foodservice in the United States is not as high as it may seem. 89% of players are still on the basic level of their development able to offer only some fundamental products, snacks, drinks and customer service.

Customer service

The way to a man’s customer’s heart is through his stomach. The girls also love a cup tasty coffee, and the long journey makes everybody equal. The role of the caf? at gas station is to provide a tasty meal!

Gas is the same and let’s say it is equally good or even great everywhere, but we brew some gourmet coffee and will treat our customer with tasty buns, and now he’s here to stay with us. Real life experts are rubbing their hands as if they were saying “Wait ‘till we’ll tell you”. And indeed they do tell a never-ending story about customer service.

Recently I have found on the Internet one such story.

It happens that two experts are looking at the same situation from different angles. It does not change the components of the situation – poor customer service is still being that way. But an expert on corporate culture sees a way out in the education of adults, which is a hard task. From where I stand it seems to be as one more validation of propriety of non-fuel business automated straight-line organization. I swear, half of the dialogue between the well-known business coach Konstantin Kharsky and an unknown employee of the gas station would not have happened even if only the business process was organized properly.

This is an audio recording of this story. >> 

I do not know the cost of a liter of gasoline

Drivers often choose the gas station not because of the cost of a liter of gasoline – over the last few years the prices in most gas chains have been almost identical. Chains are competing via related services.

If the driver can fill a full tank or refuel it at 1000 rubles – this is a good and profitable customer. This man before this whole story had no particular preference, but chose this particular chain as it  guaranteed the quality of fuel and related services. Pretty ordinary course of conduct of our time.

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