C-Stores Evolve With Guests

What’s old is new again.  Conveniences store, the oft-forgotten stepchild of the grocery, restaurant, foodservice continuum are stepping into a new age.  Over the past few years, we’ve seen the restaurant industry eclipse grocery sales in America, which was a huge first.  Now, restaurant revenues have finally started to slow–not slip!–and some spending to return to other formats.

And C-stores want a piece of the action.  At Choice Market in Denver, guests can get artisan sandwiches and staples like quinoa or kombucha on tap.  Housed in 2,700 square feet–about the size of an average Chipotle, places like Choice Market and Green Zebra, in Portland, are finding a new niche between QSR’s and grocery stores, but well above the traditional Doritos-and-candy convenience store.

Traditional players, like Wawa, have long known the value of the their real estate and already provide an up-scaled convenient experience.  And now Amazon is getting in on the action with Amazon Go–a cashless, cashier-less store that tracks you and bills your Amazon account.

We’re seeing a confluence of trends merge on similar themes again and again: grocery stores relying on prepared foods for sales, restaurants capitalizing on the fast casual trend, and automation in point of sale.

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