Fresh look at Convenience: What shoppers want

By Ranil Illesinge, Bergent Research

Ask your average Australian consumer what comes to mind when they hear the term 'convenience store' and you may get a variety of responses from 'petrol' to 'quick' to 'dirty' to 'expensive'. Chances are, 'fresh' won't be one of words that will be used. In fact, we'd be willing to bet that 'fresh' would be seen as the opposite of everything that a convenience store stands for in their minds.

But in other parts of the world, there is a mini-revolution taking place.

In the UK, Waitrose has announced plans to open a network of up to 300 convenience stores focused especially on fresh produce. Despite being smaller in size compared to a typical Waitrose supermarket, the stores will offer fresh food, cheese and deli items, with a changing menu of convenience items depending on the time of day.

This means yoghurt and porridge in the morning, sandwiches and focaccias for lunch and dinner options such as sausages and mash. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that they also sell petrol.

On the other side of the pond in the US, Giant to Go is providing more than 100 fresh produce items in single-serving sizes and family packs. This includes fruits such as bananas, berries and mangoes and vegetables such as carrots, peas and potatoes. This variety is complemented by fresh salads and fresh meats such as ground beef, chicken breasts and ham. The heart of the idea is to allow shoppers to be able to pull together a meal in a few minutes.

In continental Europe, fresh food in convenience has reached the mainstream. Fresh bread is common. Some stores offer deli items and custom made sandwiches and baguettes. In some parts of Asia, convenience stores even provide lunch and dinner. In Spain, there are vending machines that sell fresh, organic produce.

So how can your business jump onto this trend? You don't need multi-million dollar research budgets but you do need to get in touch with your shoppers to understand what 'fresh' means to them, to your store and what you can do to enhance this perception.

Making the trend relevant to your shoppers...

Numerous research studies have shown that the idea of 'fresh' can be used to work to the advantage of a business, but the application needs to be tailored and customer-centric.

One of our retailing clients did exactly that with Bergent BrandRadar™. During this process the client discovered that they'd been going down the wrong path and that their shoppers had a completely different take on what 'fresh' meant to them.

Furthermore, the extent to which they could push the 'fresh' trend in-store was much broader than they had originally anticipated.

And making more money

"Too often we see companies stick a few bits of fruit into a basket and think that's selling 'fresh' but it's so much more," explains Mr John Berenyi, Managing Director, Bergent Research.

Using BrandRadar™, Bergent identifies how to maximise return on investment (ROI) by understanding what shoppers want from retailers.

"The aim of the game is to increase sales and ROI so before investing in stock, POS and shelving, the question of what will drive sales must be asked. For retailers, this means understanding the full impact on sales in terms of the 'fresh' category but also the rest of the store. The halo effect needs to taken into account. No one may buy the apples and bananas, but they may just sell more chips."

One example of this is McDonald's: Most of the restaurant chain's revenue still comes via its traditional offerings, but the healthy options have helped the brand change its positioning.

Whatever the reasons for the trend, there are clear opportunities for c-stores in this environment.

To leverage this growing trend contact Bergent Research on +613 9322 4000 for more information.