Fueling Growth: Delivering Foot Traffic
August 16, 2019
|
Fuel Services,
Retail And Wholesale Distribution
- Keywords:
- convenience stores
- amazon
- growth
- food & beverage
August 16, 2019
|
Fuel Services,
Retail And Wholesale Distribution
Kohl’s has done it. Rite Aid has done it. Best Buy has done it. Have you?
Maybe you’ve achieved a good mix of in-store products and you’re seeing strong foot traffic—that’s great, but what else can you be doing to drive continued and increased traffic to your pumps and stores? Creative thinking and embracing some of the competition could point you in the right direction.
In June, I attended a breakfast where Michelle Gass, CEO of Kohl’s, spoke about the impact of e-commerce on the industry. Kohl’s has transformed itself in many ways over recent years, including developing a successful business relationship with Amazon. Nearly all Kohl’s stores nationwide (excluding Alaska), allow Amazon customers to return their online purchases and receive a discount coupon to use in-store. Customers enjoy this option because Kohl’s has longer hours than a post office and they box and ship the returns. After rolling out a pilot program in 2017, Kohl’s saw a significant increase in foot traffic and sales. This allowed them to expand the relationship to all of its stores (minus Alaska) by mid-2019.
While the Kohl’s return model might not work for gas stations and c-stores, Amazon has also built a variety of partnerships, including lockers where consumers pick up their purchases with names such as Rite Aid and Best Buy—and even Quick Trip and 7-Eleven within the c-store space. Amazon lockers offer a secure place to pick up your package or make a return (but customers need to package the returns themselves). On a recent trip to Arizona, I saw a number of Amazon lockers at some c-store sites. These lockers are a great way to drive potential traffic into your store while taking up minimal revenue-generating footprint (as low as six linear feet) because while customers pick up (or drop off) a package, they could also fill up their tank or get a grab-and-go dinner.
A locker setup can also be popular in more urban locations because even though millennials own cars at lower levels than previous generations, they don’t want their delivered packages sitting in a building’s common area all day. Partners have quickly realized an increase in foot traffic as the Amazon locker requires consumers to come inside lead to new non-gas sales.
Amazon isn’t the only solution and perhaps not the right solution for all. There are several potential partners and products for you to consider including, but not limited to, UPS drop boxes; contract postal unit with USPS; promotions with third parties (fundraisers with local community organizations or live radio broadcasts) or possibly being the designated stop for a regional bus service. Each of these could make you a key partner in your region, giving you an advantage over competitors.
It’s about creative thinking and giving people an additional reason to enter your store. Increased foot traffic will be a good way to show off all of the updates you have been making and could ultimately lead to an expansion of your customer base.
Read more
Kohl’s has done it. Rite Aid has done it. Best Buy has done it. Have you?
Maybe you’ve achieved a good mix of in-store products and you’re seeing strong foot traffic—that’s great, but what else can you be doing to drive continued and increased traffic to your pumps and stores? Creative thinking and embracing some of the competition could point you in the right direction.
In June, I attended a breakfast where Michelle Gass, CEO of Kohl’s, spoke about the impact of e-commerce on the industry. Kohl’s has transformed itself in many ways over recent years, including developing a successful business relationship with Amazon. Nearly all Kohl’s stores nationwide (excluding Alaska), allow Amazon customers to return their online purchases and receive a discount coupon to use in-store. Customers enjoy this option because Kohl’s has longer hours than a post office and they box and ship the returns. After rolling out a pilot program in 2017, Kohl’s saw a significant increase in foot traffic and sales. This allowed them to expand the relationship to all of its stores (minus Alaska) by mid-2019.
While the Kohl’s return model might not work for gas stations and c-stores, Amazon has also built a variety of partnerships, including lockers where consumers pick up their purchases with names such as Rite Aid and Best Buy—and even Quick Trip and 7-Eleven within the c-store space. Amazon lockers offer a secure place to pick up your package or make a return (but customers need to package the returns themselves). On a recent trip to Arizona, I saw a number of Amazon lockers at some c-store sites. These lockers are a great way to drive potential traffic into your store while taking up minimal revenue-generating footprint (as low as six linear feet) because while customers pick up (or drop off) a package, they could also fill up their tank or get a grab-and-go dinner.
A locker setup can also be popular in more urban locations because even though millennials own cars at lower levels than previous generations, they don’t want their delivered packages sitting in a building’s common area all day. Partners have quickly realized an increase in foot traffic as the Amazon locker requires consumers to come inside lead to new non-gas sales.
Amazon isn’t the only solution and perhaps not the right solution for all. There are several potential partners and products for you to consider including, but not limited to, UPS drop boxes; contract postal unit with USPS; promotions with third parties (fundraisers with local community organizations or live radio broadcasts) or possibly being the designated stop for a regional bus service. Each of these could make you a key partner in your region, giving you an advantage over competitors.
It’s about creative thinking and giving people an additional reason to enter your store. Increased foot traffic will be a good way to show off all of the updates you have been making and could ultimately lead to an expansion of your customer base.
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