3 new sources of insight on #Retail trends fyi!
10 new ideas or approaches to inspire readers to try new methods, service a different kind of customer, give a new kind of retail experience
http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/americas-top-10-retail-center-experiences
An upcoming ‘call for ideas’ summit on etail-retail- virtual shopping, sponsored by WalM…
http://www.massmarketretailers.com/store-no-8-thrive-global-launch-innov8-v-commerce/
Finally, an example of how to not REACT to trends, but get ahead of them by a Canadian-based retailer that’s imo a benchmark to admire.
http://www.csnews.com/product-categories/fuels/couche-tard-ceo-talks-electric-cars-fuels-future?cc=3
C-stores by definition are positioned based on “convenience” – consider how treacherous that is! Examples:
- when Grocery stores opened late, they lost an advantage;
- when weed became legally available to millions of Canadian “glaucoma sufferers” (cough cough…) C-stores Dorito & RollingPaper sales took a ‘hit’;
- when tobacco smoking incidence fell, C-store visits fell
Again & again, C-stores adapted: seizing new opportunities to sell throwaway cellphones & phone cards, lottery tickets, decent coffee, fresh meals, last-minute gifts & cards, and more. Couche-tard is investing to test other ways to drive shoppers to C-stores in Norway, presumably a lead market for e-vehicles.
Consider: many C-stores have traditionally been linked to (located in conjunction with) gassing up a vehicle. If consumers instead charge up their e-vehicle at home at night, what’s to become of C-stores?
Couche-tard is too smart to wait & see; the savvy retailer is getting ahead by trying & measuring different approaches. As a marketer, I applaud this! As an R&D guy, I’ve mixed feelings about a country test market. The scale is terrific, however everything is oh-so-readable… to the competition. My bet is that this move hasn’t escaped the attention of Couch-tard’s global rival, 7-Eleven. Quite possible that right now, in Irving TX and Chiyoda, Japan, note-takers are busily tuning into “Lillehammer’ on Netflix- and managers are booking tickets for a prolonged stay in Norway. They simply can’t ‘affiord’ not to know what Couche-tard is trying.
SL
