Study identifies five compelling new platforms that can drive convenience retail growth. Convenience retailers seeking a profitable path to the future now have five compelling growth platforms to explore, following recommendations offered in the final section of a new NACS /Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council (NACS / CCRRC) study posted on www.ccrrc.org. “C-Growth: Using Shopper Research…
Technomic Report Analyzes Snacking Habits
Snacking Occasion Consumer Trend Report shows customers are snacking more as meals get healthier. Consumers are snacking significantly more now than they were just two years ago. Almost half (48%) of consumers polled say they’re now snacking at least twice a day, compared to 25% in 2010. Restaurants are capitalizing on the growing snacking occasion…
R.J. Reynolds Launches Get Engaged
R.J. Reynolds delivers on its pledge to its retail partners with a powerful new online tool: Get Engaged. R.J. Reynolds has launched Get Engaged, a new feature on EngageRJRT.com, the online resource for R.J. Reynolds’ retail partners. Get Engaged was created as a research and learning platform intended to provide retailers with shopper insights and…
C-Store Foodservice Grows To $11.5 Billion
The number of stores with dedicated foodservice personnel has nearly doubled since 2007. In a sign that convenience store operators are successfully ramping up their foodservice efforts, industry consultants Technomic found that average unit volumes for c-stores offering prepared food and dispensed beverages (“true foodservice”) jumped to more than $136k in 2011, up from $123k…
Driving Foodservice Profitability
Taking steps to promote innovative products and value pricing can elevate the whole roller grill experience. By Heather Henstock, Contributing Editor. When consumers think of convenience store food, roller grill hot dogs are top of mind. Roller grills have developed a mixed reputation over the years, but they remain a staple of c-store foodservice programs…
Tapping Into the Buying Power of Hispanic Customers
C-store executives charged with marketing to the Hispanic community may be chagrined to find that there is, when all is said and done, no Hispanic community. Instead, there are many Hispanic communities. According to Chicago-based Doyle Research Associates Inc., “Hispanics possess many cultural similarities like common language, Spaniard ancestry and common religion. On the other…
Alcoholic Beverage Customers Cautious
U.S. consumers remain somewhat cautious about their alcohol beverage spending, the Nielsen Company reported this month. Nielsen’s research revealed that a significant percentage of consumers claim they are going out less often now than before the economic downturn. Nearly half of consumers (47%) report going to bars or clubs less often, while an even greater…
Frozen Sales Heating Up
Since its invention about half a century ago, the frozen dispensed beverage has become a convenience store tradition, with three out of every four U.S. convenience outlets housing a frozen beverage bar. While frozen dispensed beverages are not a huge portion of the typical store’s overall sales, the product is profitable, thanks to a gross…