Innovation Roadmap: The Store Experience
NATIONAL REPORT — Creating an inviting and memorable store experience for customers is top of mind for today's convenience retailers, who are competing not just with each another, but also against quick-service restaurants, coffeehouses, drugstores, big-box locations and more. C-store retailers are using store design, branding, products, amenities and services to captivate customers and keep them coming back.
"The retail landscape has become so competitive these days that customer expectations have reached new highs when it comes to in-store experiences," said Joseph Bona, president of Bona Design Lab Inc., based in New York. "This has created opportunities for retailers to add personality and storytelling to the store environments to personalize their brands and connect with consumers on a more emotional level."
[Read more: Charting an Innovation Roadmap]
Depending on what a retailer wants to highlight or focus on, they can use branding and design to tell that story and differentiate themselves from their competition. While most operators compete on price and speed of service, design can separate them from others, according to Bona.
"A running shoe is a running shoe until you add a swoosh or three stripes and then it becomes a Nike or Adidas," he explained. "Such is the same in retail. A set of cooler doors are a set of cooler doors, but once you cross the threshold and enter the store, storytelling through design is how great retailers change the focus from impulse behavior to becoming a mission-driven destination."
Branding & Design
At Global Partners LP, which operates nearly 300 company-owned convenience stores, including the Alltown and Alltown Fresh brands, building a new location, or renovating or refreshing a store, starts with understanding the customer's journey through the store from the minute they pull into the parking lot, according to Laura Derba, senior vice president of retail operations at the Waltham, Mass.-based company.
"We look at what they see, what it says to them and what they can be excited about," she said. "We want it to feel comfortable and easy to navigate, and when they walk into the store, it's about what they see, what the look is, how they will feel and if the flow makes sense."
The store experience will differ depending on the location and the customers who frequent it. A site with a lot of commuters who want to get in and out requires a different experience than a suburban site with a lot of dinner traffic where customers tend to have more time. Knowing this allows Global Partners to draw out footprints and design each store experience to meet the customer's expectations, noted Derba.
"It's never only about what fixtures are used, what color the walls are painted or the style of graphics that deliver the marketing messages," echoed Bona. "It's how the store environment comes together in a seamless experience that feels authentic and relevant to the target audience."
No matter the location, Global Partners makes sure there are easily identifiable brand elements, coupled with things that reflect the different customer and community. "There are elements that show up as familiar even if the interior layout is different," said Derba. "You get the same look, feel and welcoming when you walk in the door."
For example, there will be the same fixturing and small touches such as signage, color palettes and "soft touches" that convey the brand no matter what size the store is or where it's located, according to Joanna Linder, vice president of marketing at Global Partners. "Also, the role of technology and how we incorporate that lends to the brand and store experience, including digital menuboards, kiosks and self-checkout," Linder said.
The Offer
The products, services and amenities a convenience store offers also lend to the overall experience and can be used to convey the overarching message of a brand.
"Our offerings vary not only by the type of store — whether commuter, suburban or urban — but also the size of the store," Derba pointed out. "The highest category customers look for is fresh, so we have made-to-order food, and the bigger stores have seasonal components, supplies from local farmers, and the foodservice concept is focused on local."
The bigger the store, the more Global Partners is able to highlight fresh and local, including perishables and small service bakery where team members bake fresh products in the morning. In fact, the retailer plans to venture more into perishables in 2025, including dairy, produce and even flowers — with the goal of supporting local businesses in the community.
"We will ground ourselves with local, artisan products and small producers in the communities we serve," Derba said. "Hospitality is another big piece of our stores because we want customers to feel engaged and excited about the opportunities through customer service. That could be suggesting new items that are in season or something they have not seen."
Global Partners has four pillars they operate on — hospitality, local, fresh and community — and the retailer uses branding, design and offerings to convey these pillars throughout each store. Customers have come to expect these pillars from the brand, but the goal is to also surprise and delight them, according to Derba.
"Leaning into 2025, the goal is to make our stores a place that is fun," she said. "The stores often look the same 365 days a year and don't have a lot of seasonality. We want to bring our stores to life with a personality that is fun and brings people a smile when they see something unexpected to enjoy."
Foodservice and beverages continue to dominate the c-store space and design is often used to elevate expectations, Bona noted. These areas of the store are becoming even more prominent, whether through enhanced visibility with open kitchens or adding drive-thrus.
"When trying to emphasize foodservice, it starts with layout and design, and knowing the customer journey to see where to place it in the store and elevate it," he said. "If you are focused on fresh ingredients and prepared onsite, you might have an open kitchen. If you are more about efficiency, you might have digital menuboards or touchscreen ordering."
While some customers make a habit of stopping at their local c-store often, there are many who stop unexpectedly because they need or forgot something. While it's important to get them in and out quickly, it's also important to provide an experience that brings them joy so they return, said Linder, Global Partners' marketing lead.
"We want to put a smile on their face and give them something different and memorable where they think, 'I would go back there if I need something next time,'" she said.