Better, faster, more streamlined. Convenience store operators are pursuing these attributes
through investments in a range of technologies, both customer-facing enhancements and
backend improvements that strengthen operations. It all adds up to a better customer experience.
The 2023 Convenience Store News Technology Study examines the current convenience
tech landscape and the ongoing evolution that lies ahead.
Key Technology Investments: Currently Offer
Social media, consumer-facing websites and digital loyalty programs lead
the way in key technology investments currently offered by c-stores, with digital loyalty seeing a significant year-over-year jump (up 15 points)
as retailers work to bring back repeat customers.
The amount c-store retailers are spending on technology is going up:
58% said their company’s tech budget increased from 2021 to 2022,
and 50% slated it to increase again this year.
7%
Don't know
Key Technology Investments: Plan to Add
The top store-related technology investments that surveyed retailers plan to add in the future are text messaging to customers and GPS/geolocation alerts (both cited by 30%). Additionally, nearly a quarter of retailers expect to add digital loyalty programs, in-store touchscreen monitors for ordering and email marketing within the next one to two years.
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On the forecourt, c-store operators are focusing on tools that can help entice motorists into the store. Adding merchandise/foodservice ordering at the pump, digital monitors at the pump and at-pump ads/coupons are the leading forecourt plans among retailers.
Top Business Opportunities:
Customer-Facing Technology
Improving the overall customer experience is a key objective for c-store operators: 66% cited this as the biggest opportunity driving their investments in customer-facing technology. Other leading drivers are employee training and securing customer loyalty.
According to the retailers surveyed, 58% of their overall technology
spending goes to consumer-facing tech, while 42%
goes to employee-facing tech.
Top Business Opportunities:
Backend Technology
When it comes to backend technology, retailers ranked developing greater business intelligence
and reporting capabilities, better management of store-level inventory and revenue,
and improving the use of loyalty data as the top opportunities
driving their investments.
“Only with good optics of business performance can we best determine how to make changes and/or improvements.”
“Only with good optics of business performance can we best determine
how to make changes and/or improvements.”
— A surveyed retailer
Loyalty programs,
and the valuable
customer data they provide, continue to
grow in importance to convenience retailers.
More than two-thirds of surveyed operators (68%) have some kind of loyalty program, up from 59%
in 2022 and 52%
in 2021.
Loyalty Program Features
More than three-quarters of those with a loyalty program offer a mobile app.
Mobile App Features
The three most common app features are a store locator (offered by 96%), an option for customer feedback (77%) and a loyalty program tie-in (73%).
“Only with good optics of business performance can we best determine how to make changes and/or improvements.”
Limited-time specials, proprietary product coupons, fuel price listings and vendor coupons are also offered by more than half of study respondents in their apps.
* Added in 2022
* Added in 2022
