Cashing in on the Fill-In

You can boil food shopping down to two basic types: filling up vs. filling in. And as consumers become more and more pressed for time, fill-in shoppers — those who only need a few items to carry them over until their next big grocery shopping trip —are in sharp focus lately.

Convenience stores are considered a convenient and quick option by consumers who only need one or two items for fill-in. According to a recent study conducted by General Mills Convenience & Foodservice, 19 percent of consumers report they visit c-stores most often for fill-in trips. This is less than the 32 percent who visit grocery stores most often for fill-in trips, but more than the 11 percent who turn to mass merchants or supercenters most often.

Which c-store operators are doing a particularly good job in this area?

“Wawa is doing well with the fill-in shopper and has been for decades,” said Jon Fiondella, account supervisor at Westport, Conn.-based Catapult Marketing, a conversion marketing agency that specializes in brand strategy, shopper marketing and consumer promotions.

“Wawa is one of the largest convenience store chains in Greater Philadelphia, but it is also one of the largest retailers of food in Greater Philadelphia,” Fiondella noted. “Its history in the dairy industry and previous ‘Food Market’ branding could be the reason for its success with the fill-in trip.”

Even though Wawa’s logo no longer reads “Food Market,” shoppers still have a deep-rooted connection with the retailer’s stores as their local market. “Additionally, from the variety, quality and price of goods, to the squeaky-clean atmosphere, shoppers simply have an overall positive perception of the Wawa shopping experience,” Fiondella added.

Newer to the fill-in arena is CST Brands Inc., which recently introduced 300 new grocery offerings to 50 of its convenience stores in Texas. The San Antonio-based chain plans to offer this expanded grocery selection in all its new store builds, according to CST Chairwoman and CEO Kim Lubel. During the company’s fiscal 2015 second-quarter earnings call, it was revealed that CST plans to offer a variety of produce, meats and perishable items in an attempt to lure supermarket customers who often use the express lane for their fill-in shopping needs. CST is also going one step further and debuting a new name for its larger stores offering the expanded selection. These stores will be branded Corner Store Market.

The Corner Store Market concept is part of a total Corner Store brand makeover that began at the tail end of 2015 in the company’s hometown and will spread outward. A dramatic new look and feel carries out the company’s new service promise of “Simply Fresh. Always Friendly.” The color palette and design elements are meant to be refreshing, neighborly and in-touch.

Corner Store Market aims to attract more millennials and women looking for on-the-go lunch options or quick dinner solutions without the hassle of navigating a big-box store.

“Our customers lead busy, active lives and Corner Store is here to make things easier. Our goal is to create a simple and streamlined shopping experience from start to finish so customers can make the most of their time,” explained Hal Adams, CST’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “Fresh is about a lot more than food; it’s about delivering an overall refreshing experience — a clean store, quality products, a neighborly atmosphere and team members that genuinely love to serve customers.”

BEYOND THE C-STORE SECTOR

Of course, convenience stores aren’t the only ones looking to compete with grocery stores to better fulfill the fill-in needs of food shoppers.

In the drugstore channel, CVS recently expanded into healthier food options in stores across the nation, expanding into fill-in foods like milk and produce.

“After we stopped selling tobacco, the No. 1 thing customers asked us about was providing healthier food choices, which is why healthy food is now occupying a bigger physical footprint in CVS/pharmacy stores,” Judy Sansone, senior vice president, Front Store Business for CVS Health, told Convenience Store News. “We have increased grocery options like eggs, almond milk, cheese, yogurt, lunch solutions and added brands like Kashi, Cascadian Farms, Amy’s Kitchen and Annie’s Homegrown.” Other healthier brands CVS stores are carrying include Kind, Stacy’s, Chobani, Vita Coco, Naked, Sabra, Brookside and Skinny Pop.

Merchandising-wise, CVS has “personalized and customized” the configuration of aisles and items based on the community in which the store resides. More than 500 locations now feature the layout with hundreds of new fresh, refrigerated and healthier food items.

Many of the new options are repositioned to the front and center of the store to reportedly “empower and nudge” customers to make healthy choices when they want to. But CVS is not de-selecting the more indulgent options that customers still want in moderation; such items are available in inner aisles. Additionally, wall coolers have been added to some stores to further expand the footprint of new products.

The drugstore chain has even developed an exclusive brand, Gold Emblem Abound, a line of better-for-you snack and grocery items free of artificial flavors and preservatives.

Meanwhile in the specialty food channel, Whole Foods Market Inc. is working on a new streamlined, technology-oriented, value-focused store format geared toward millennial shoppers, to open in 2016 under the banner 365 by Whole Foods Market. The 365 format is meant to be a complementary brand and not an alternative to the current Whole Foods Market stores.

The retailer anticipates shoppers will visit both stores: the traditional, larger Whole Foods Market for typical weekly grocery shopping trips and the new 365 format for fill-in shopping trips. “With a fresh format and unique product assortment, we think 365 will offer convenience and value while providing the quality standards and transparency that consumers love and expect,” stated Jeff Turnas, president of 365 by Whole Foods Market.

The first five 365 stores are slated to open in the second half of 2016, first in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, and then in Bellevue, Wash., Houston, Texas, Portland, Ore., and Santa Monica, Calif. Whole Foods then plans to double the number of 365 by Whole Foods Market store openings in 2017.

Fill-in shopping is likewise on the radar of dollar store operators. This year, Dollar General will roll out a new prototype for all its stores. The new store model will offer speedier checkout and a greater focus on perishables, among other things, according to a recent earnings report.

To emphasize perishables and help consumers find quick meal solutions or fill-in items, the value retailer plans to expand cooler penetration across its entire store base, a move reportedly prompted by research that showed a basket with a perishable item is nearly 50 percent higher than the chain average.

“This is a big opportunity that we know how to capitalize on, as we have already increased the cooler count on average by just over 50 percent since 2008,” Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said.

FULFILLING THE FILL-IN SHOPPER

So, while there are good examples of c-stores and other retailers effectively targeting fill-in shoppers, the convenience sector has been pinpointed to have the biggest opportunity to do better with this shopper by leveraging more than just the channel’s convenient factor.

“Convenience is simply not enough anymore,” Catapult Marketing’s Fiondella said. “C-stores need to have the right assortment, keep items in stock, be welcoming, solution-oriented and satisfy needs more.” He added that “digital connections” will continue to be integral to staying top of mind with today’s on-the-go and fill-in shoppers.

Shoppers participating in a recent General Mills study cited lack of variety, low quality and too-high prices as the top barriers to visiting c-stores for fill-in trips.

Recognizing this, plus the fact that convenience stores are more convenient than many of their competitors, General Mills developed a fill-in framework for the channel — aptly named “F.I.L.L.” — with tips to capture and increase the satisfaction of the fill-in shopper:

• F: Full-Size Staples: Offer full-sized grocery items where it counts — milk, bread, soda, eggs and salty snacks.
• I: In & Out: Continue delivering on convenience; shoppers choose c-stores because they can get in and out in less than two minutes.
• L: Lift Quality: Focus on quality, especially in regards to perishable grocery items such as cheese and fresh produce.
• L: Lower Prices: Offer value with competitively priced staple items.

The way some see it, all c-stores need is a bit of fine-tuning to gain both fill-in shoppers and millennial shoppers, who are often one in the same.

“The millennial shopper is the thing we’re all chasing now, but the millennial shopper is already the perfect c-store shopper,” said Mark Singleton, past chairman and current executive committee member of the Snack Food Association, as well as vice president of sales and marketing for snack food supplier Rudolph Foods. He told CSNews that the millennial shopper, by nature, is not going to make a big purchase — in Starbucks, for example, he observes that they are hitting apps and ordering ahead to speedily pick up their coffee.

“This consumer is so different, they won’t even wait in a line. So, the c-store is perfect for them. There are some millennials who may never step foot in a big-box store until they’re raising a family,” Singleton said. He also pointed out they are “too sharp” to fall for the grocery store racetrack design, whereby stores typically lead consumers to the “farthest edge of the world” to find the items they need most, like bread and milk.

Still, while c-stores provide the perfect format, they have to be mindful of directly targeting a millennial fill-in shopper’s needs. “If you’re going to get that shopper, you have to do it in a different way and in a different place — the c-store is that place with some product, pricing and full-size tweaks,” Singleton relayed.

Product-wise, Singleton, like many in the food arena, predicts high-protein products will continue to be very big with on-the-go and fill-in shoppers this year. “[2016] will be a super year for proteins and we’re seeing so many different options,” he said. “Meat-based like pork rinds, but also legume-based and yogurt-based.”

Also hot on the high-protein list are eggs, and one manufacturer, NestFresh, recently expanded its capabilities to deliver foodservice and convenience products to c-stores with the acquisition of a hard-boiled egg facility. The plant is currently undergoing the process to achieve SQF Level 3 certification, as well as other third-party certifications.

NestFresh is getting ready to provide hard-boiled products in a variety of pack sizes for convenience stores and it intends to keep the “packaging consistent with existing NestFresh products, highlighting the high level of animal welfare we provide our hens by showcasing the hens and their cage-free living conditions on the farms,” according to Jasen Urena, director of specialty eggs for NestFresh.

The company is onboard with c-stores catering to the fill-in shopper. “Today, consumers live in a world where they attain their wants and needs right here, right now,” Urena told CSNews. “The digital age has inspired instant gratification in nearly every industry, including the food industry. The fill-in shopper is looking for quick and convenient foods they can grab at a moment’s notice. Between trips to the grocery store, c-stores often provide staples that just cannot wait.”