Thinking Like a Future-Forward Retailer
TUCSON, Ariz. — The convenience channel faces changes at every turn: the changing offer, the changing consumer, the changing technology that powers the value proposition. To keep up with all the changes, the channel's retailers need a roadmap.
In October, Ed Collupy, innovation facilitator at Conexxus, presented the NACS/Conexxus Roadmap at the 2024 NACS Show in Las Vegas. The four guideposts dotting the map were digital media; mobility commerce; "the perfect storm" of mandates; and identity, security and privacy.
At the 2025 Conexxus Annual Conference, which took place this week in Tucson, three retailers joined Collupy for a "Think Tank Panel: Realities From Top C-store Leaders" to discuss what stops they have along their company's roadmaps.
[Read more: The Vision Group Network Forms Technology-Focused Forum]
Evaluation of New Technologies
At CHS Inc., operator of the Cenex brand, there is never a shortage of requests when it comes to retail technology, according to Gary Hoover, manager, Point of Sales Product Team, CHS Payment Solutions. Those requests run the spectrum from point-of-sale (POS) systems to self-checkout to loyalty programs.
The first step in the evaluation process is asking questions: Who is making the request? How many locations? What vendor involvement is required?
Next, weighing the cost vs. the benefits is a key factor. "What benefit will this change drive? We are looking at the financial impact," Hoover explained. "Are we going to drive additional sales and are we going to cut costs?"
Another step in the evaluation process is understanding what the implementation of the new technology would look like. Among the questions to ask during this step are:
- Is the project required?
- How many resources are required to implement?
- What costs are associated with this?
From there, CHS' executive team reviews the request and makes a go or no-go decision, he said.
The Foodservice Experience
For Cliff's Local Market, foodservice has been part of its fabric since its days as a longtime franchisee of Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes in upstate New York.
"We've been doing foodservice for 25 to 30 years with great depth," said Jeff Carpenter, director of education and training at Clifford Fuel Co. "A lot of people thought we were pretty crazy, but obviously we know that that's changed quite a bit."
Foodservice drives a lot of what the c-store arm of Clifford Fuel does, according to Carpenter, as Cliff's Local Market thinks of itself as a restaurant first.
"If you think about going to a restaurant, there are things you are looking for: good service, quality food, consistency and a good experience," he explained. "They align very well with what we do in convenience. If you can do these things well and you're really focused on service, it really shouldn't be an afterthought. It should be what you're going to market with."
The company asks two questions: what is convenience today and who is our customer? The answer to both has changed over the past few years, he noted.
Looking at the foodservice offer, there are two "widely different experiences," according to Carpenter, who cited the front-of-house flow that includes customers who place made-to-order requests and like to watch their food being made. On the other hand, he said there are the customers who prefer "don't talk to me" deliveries.
"There's a broad range of experiences from the customer perspective and we are looking at how technology can bridge those gaps and create a seamless, frictionless experience for the customer," Carpenter said.
So, what does fitting the pieces together at Cliff's Local Market look like?
- Online ordering, for both pickup and delivery
- In-store kiosks
- A mobile app, which the retailer does not have yet
- Rewards and loyalty
- Self-checkout, which brings about some limitations with made-to-order foodservice items
- POS, back office and accounting systems
As an operator of 22 convenience stores, however, the company does face some small retailer realities — namely, limited internal resources and limited leverage for custom development. On the flip side, small retailers can be flexible and have a strong pulse on customer engagement and feedback, Carpenter pointed out.
The Retail Employee Experience
With more than 840 c-stores across the Maverik and Kum & Go brands, Maverik — Adventure First Stop employs approximately 16,000 associates in soon-to-be 21 states.
"We really don't talk enough about the employee experience and what we are trying to do for them. They are the ones interacting with our customers," said Chad Kobayashi, senior director of retail technology at Maverik. "We are very diverse. We have a lot of store employees and a lot of locations, and we are trying to think through the technology and how we leverage it."
Included in the convenience retailer's operations today is a mixed lineup of tech devices, including POS terminals, self-checkout terminals, kitchen production terminals, and iPads for front of house and back of house. According to Kobayashi, going forward, Maverik will move mostly through the Android environment for all its devices.
"We want to have devices for each employee as they're doing their tasks or functions for the day," he said, adding that the move will include two Android tablets and four to six Android handheld devices.
Why the change? Maverik wants to futureproof the way its stores operate and how its employees interact. With the devices in employees' hands, the company will be able to know who logs in and which employee is doing what function and when. It also takes away the risk of employees using their own personal devices, Kobayashi explained.
This shift in employee technology will help with inventory management, allow for real-time communication, act as a time clock, and include helpdesk and planogram software, among other uses.
For the employees, it will mean one set of credentials across devices, platforms and apps; a consistent experience; role-based app assignments; simplified training; and fewer devices to complete daily functions, according to Kobayashi.
The 2025 Conexxus Annual Conference took place Jan. 26-30 at Loews Ventana Canyon in Tucson.
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