A Return to Operational Basics
Nearly half of respondents in the 2024 Convenience Store News Technology Study said they increased their technology spend last year over 2023. Broken down, 63% of the investment occurred at the store level, and 52% went toward backend needs.
The top area of focus in backend technology? Sixty-five percent of respondents cited improving operational efficiency. And if the opening months of 2025 are any indication, convenience store retailers are continuing on that track. Since the beginning of February, several industry players have made moves around streamlining their store operations.
Westborough, Mass.-based EG America chose Quorso's Intelligent Management Platform to help simplify store operations and drive performance. The platform is designed to eliminate the complexity and overwhelm of too much data, too many tasks and too many systems.
Spicewood, Texas-based Texas Born (TXB) is taking steps to optimize its asset management process by teaming up with Techniche. With the tech company's Urgent asset and maintenance management software, TXB brings the management and maintenance of its c-store assets and IT-related issues into one platform.
Atlanta-based RaceTrac Inc. partnered with ColorWorks to bring the retailer's shelf tagging and product labeling operations in-house using on-demand color label printers. The convenience chain has shifted away from its one-size-fits-all printing operation, reducing production time from weeks to less than two days.
Boise, Idaho-based Stinker Stores joined with Inteladata to leverage its UpDog platform to enhance the retailer's roller grill execution and drive sales growth. The AI-powered platform integrates advanced camera vision technology to enhance foodservice execution.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it is nice to see retailers taking a step back to operational basics. In a channel that historically battles turnover at the store level, all these tech-related moves not only help employees perform more efficiently, but they also help to deliver a more streamlined shopping experience to customers.
After all, at the end of the day, isn't it about people?
