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1
Walmart Kicks Off 2019 With Key Moves Around Grocery Delivery & Pickup
The big-box retailer launched what it described as its largest and firstever cross-platform marketing campaign for Walmart Grocery Pickup. Currently, the service is available nationwide and will roll out to more locations this year.
2
Convenience Store Retail Trends: Year in Review & 2019 Outlook
2018 was a year of change for the convenience retail industry — some net positives and some challenging developments. What will last year’s changes mean for the industry in 2019? How can convenience retailers prepare, adapt and thrive in a more consolidated, more competitive environment no longer buoyed by high gas prices?
3
Federal Lawsuit Charges Buc-ee’s With Setting Unfair Pump Prices
A lawsuit claims that Buc-ee’s illegally priced gasoline when it opened its first Alabama travel center in January along Interstate 10 in Baldwin County. The suit, filed in federal court by Oasis Travel Center LLC, alleges that the Lake Jackson, Texas-based company violated the 35-year-old Alabama Motor Fuel Marketing Act and demands that Buc-ee’s halt its pricing strategies while the case is pending.
4
Starbucks Expands Delivery Service to Six Cities
Through a partnership with Uber Eats, the expansion kicked off Jan. 22 in San Francisco, with Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. to follow. In total, Starbucks Delivers will be available in seven U.S. cities by this spring, and the company remains on track to bring the service to nearly one-quarter of its U.S. company-operated stores.
5
What Consumers Want From Convenience Stores Today
Pilot Flying J Makes Hospitality a Major Focus
Professional truck drivers are a promiscuous bunch when it comes to brand loyalty. They go where the best deal is. Pilot Flying J is working on several fronts to ensure that the chain’s travel centers are where they choose to go time after time.
Most convenience stores have made huge strides in foodservice but are uncertain of the “next step,” according to Tom Cook of King-Casey and Mark Kuperman of Revenue Management Solutions. Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and fast-casual brands have spent more than 50 years examining every aspect of customer behavior, so their experiences can offer c-stores a shortcut to foodservice success. QSR and fast-casual brands start by linking a well-documented menu strategy to specific business objectives. The strategy prioritizes the menu products and states how they will help the brand meet its objectives.
10 Convenience Store News C S N E W S . c o m
Asked to rate various popular convenience store programs and services on a scale of 1 to 5 (least important to most important), loyalty programs achieved the highest rating of 3.6 in the same study. Made-to-order foodservice was a distant second at 3.1, followed by drive-thru windows (2.7), in-store/outdoor dining area (2.7), mobile/advanced ordering (2.5), traditional delivery (2.5), curbside pickup (2.5) and drone delivery (2). For more exclusive stories, visit the Special Features section of www.csnews.com.
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EXPERT VIEWPOINT: How to Grow Your Convenience Foodservice Business With Strategic Menu Modeling
Consumers rate their experience in purchasing meals and beverages at convenience stores much better than fast-food or fast-casual restaurants in terms of speed of service and overall convenience. The majority also say that ready-to-go/serve-yourself foods, beverages and snacks are their preferred type of foodservice when they shop at a convenience store, according to a newly released Convenience Store Consumer Study by AlixPartners, a global consulting firm.