In today’s data-driven world, turning raw data into actionable insights is crucial for c-stores to stay competitive. A clean, organized data set is the foundation for making informed decisions that drive growth and efficiency.
In my previous column, I talked about three ways c-stores can utilize GenAI to drive operational efficiencies. This month, I want to look at which steps to take to start turning data into actionable insights. We’ll explore key questions to ask when prioritizing data management based on specific goals and outcomes, and we’ll also delve into Discount Tire’s success story and see how it applies to the convenience industry.
The Importance of Data Hygiene
Just like a cluttered store can deter customers, dirty data can hinder your ability to make sound business decisions. Dirty data — data that is inaccurate, incomplete or inconsistent — can lead to misguided business strategies and missed opportunities.
The first step in cleaning up your data is to define your objectives and goals. Then, a comprehensive data audit is in order. This process will help identify priorities and establish data-cleaning requirements — a necessity for the audit to be as productive as possible.
Going through an audit process with core goals and objectives in mind ensures businesses can establish data-cleaning requirements and prioritize them in a way that delivers value to the organization.
Here are some essential questions to guide you through the process of setting goals and beginning your audit:
Data-Driven Decision Making
- What major reports and insights do you currently generate and use to drive decision-making within your business?
- How do these reports help you identify trends and customer preferences?
- How reliable are these reports? Are there issues with data timeliness, accuracy, or is data in silos and not easily accessible?
- Who has access to reports, insights and data within the business? Are these things generally available or are they only available to a few individuals?
Pricing Strategies
- What challenges do you face in understanding which menu items are most popular or underperforming?
- How do you currently assess the impact of pricing changes that are made?
- Do you analyze sales data and food/labor costs mapped to customer demand to drive the right price points for each menu item for each market?
- Do you analyze transaction data, especially demographics, orders, user reviews on sites such as Yelp, Google, etc., to identify what’s hot/popular and what’s not performing?
Operational Efficiency
- What specific data points do you track for order accuracy, wait times and staffing levels?
- How do you address any inefficiencies or bottlenecks that you identify?
- Can you assess the impact of discounting and limited offers on revenue?
- Does your data and reporting inform how you order inventory and its impact on reducing waste?
Clean Data Unlocks the Power Of AI
Maintaining good data hygiene is crucial for transforming data into actionable insights. Clean, organized data not only enhances the reliability of reports but also empowers c-stores to make informed decisions, optimize processes and unlock AI-enabled capabilities.
With clean data, c-store operators can make strategic choices based on clear insights. For example, analyzing transaction data helps identify peak shopping times, allowing for optimal staffing levels. Clean data also aids in determining stock levels, identifying underperforming products, and tailoring marketing campaigns to specific customer segments.
Accurate data is essential for optimizing operational processes, from inventory management to supply chain logistics. It helps avoid overstocking or understocking, reducing waste and ensuring that the right products are always available for customers.
Furthermore, maintaining clean data enables the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI). High-quality data enhances the effectiveness of AI algorithms, leading to deeper insights, predictive analytics and automation capabilities that can significantly improve c-store operations.
How Discount Tire Turned Data into Action
At first glance, a tire company and a convenience store might seem to have little in common. But the story of how Discount Tire overhauled its data systems is instructional to the c-store industry.
Burdened with a 20-plus -year-old point-of-sale (POS) system and unable to meet the evolving commerce needs of its 1,200-plus stores, Discount Tire needed a comprehensive systems overhaul to enable an increased transaction volume. The system (and its “dirty data”) also slowed down the back-of-house team dealing with inventory management and the front-of-house teams helping customers place orders.
They faced data challenges common to B2C businesses, including c-stores: a desire to decrease in-store wait times, increase the speed of orders, reduce labor costs, and improve inventory management.
With the strategic guidance of a digital partner, Discount Tire replaced its legacy POS system with a contemporary solution, implemented a new desktop system for comprehensive in-store business processes, and developed a cutting-edge mobility solution to transition the company’s operations to a mobile-centric platform.
The results were significant: accurate forecasting and real-time inventory management, automation and efficiency generation, and a 20% reduction in customer wait times. Because they had access to more and better data, Discount Tire was able to supercharge their decision-making processes.
Next Steps for C-Stores
Turning data into actionable insights is not just about having the right tools, it’s also about asking the right questions. Using the full power of their data, companies can unlock their full potential with more informed decisions around pricing and operational efficiency.
Discount Tire’s success story is a powerful example of how a comprehensive data strategy can lead to significant improvements in efficiency and customer experience.
Ready to turn your data into actionable insights? Start with a thorough data spring cleaning and ask the right questions to guide your strategy. The results could be transformative for your business.
Mike Maxwell is Bounteous x Accolite’s senior vice president of technology for the restaurant and convenience industries. He guides the team responsible for architecting, building, testing, deploying and monitoring digital properties for 35-plus top restaurant and c-store brands, including Jackson’s Food Stores, Dash In and Wingstop.
