FEATURE
THE NEW NORMAL
Consumer demand for delivery and pickup services continues to grow By Tammy Mastroberte WHILE THE PANDEMIC accelerated the adoption of delivery and curbside pickup in the retail and restaurant industries, two years later, the demand for these services continues to soar.
Convenience stores offering these services now find themselves uniquely positioned to not only offer foodservice delivery to compete with quickservice and fast-casual restaurants, but also make grocery items available, including tobacco and alcohol in certain states. “We are continuing to see growth in delivery, and we keep rolling out the option to more stores,” Jodi Riggs, external business development manager at Wesco Inc., a Pittsburgh-based chain of 55 c-stores, told Convenience Store News. Wesco actually started offering delivery using Vroom Delivery in 2019 prior to the pandemic, and each year has seen tremendous growth in the offering — which is now available at 14 stores, with plans to roll it out to 20 more locations by July 2022. In 2020, Wesco saw delivery grow 233 percent over the prior year. Last year, it grew another 177 percent compared to 2020, according to Riggs. “We also saw about a 25-percent increase in sales within the first year of rolling out delivery at some of our stores, and we see higher rings or basket sizes [for delivery] vs. in-store purchases. In some cases, this is up to 5 times higher,” Riggs reported. Consumer research done by Hathway, a consulting firm focused on digital solutions, found that today’s shoppers want delivery as an option for c-stores and will use it when it is available.
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In February 2022, the company surveyed 2,000 adults equally distributed among age groups and locations across the United States and found that an average of 49 percent had ordered from a c-store in the past 12 months — up 6 percent from a survey done three months prior. Among those who ordered via delivery, 18- to 29-yearolds were the highest percentage to use this option (75 percent), followed by 30- to 44-year-olds (60 percent). “The study also showed there are a lot of consumers who are trying to order delivery from a c-store only to realize they don’t provide the option,” noted Kevin Rice, president and chief marketing officer for Hathway. Approximately 42 percent said they attempted to order delivery in the past 12 months, but the c-store didn’t provide it. Then, 62 percent of those who could not make the purchase tried again within a few months, Rice shared, noting how the data shows a gap between consumer expectations and what is being offered. Additionally, 81 percent of consumers in the survey said they anticipate ordering via delivery more in the future. “People want this and the data is showing it,” Rice said. “Demand will continue to grow, and it creates so much opportunity in the c-store space because delivery skews toward the dinnertime daypart and that is a daypart c-stores have historically struggled to capture.” Competition in the “convenience” space is increasing as well, with DoorDash opening Dash Mart stores that bring both household essentials and local restaurant favorites to customers’ doorsteps; and companies like Gopuff, which uses its own app, offering delivery of food, home essentials, snacks and alcohol. “Gopuff is making big investments in foodservice, drivers and technology infrastructure, and they own the stores,
