ShopperVista Channel Focus guide

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IGD 2014

Convenience store shoppers your free guide

Welcome to your free guide to convenience store
shoppers, from the Channel Focus research stream of
our ShopperVista insight service.
We interview convenience store shoppers every day,
and each quarter we publish insight and tracking
reports based on interviews with a representative
sample of 1,000 British convenience shoppers.

The convenience channel is set to grow by more than

30% over the next five years. This guide will help you
get up-to-speed with your shoppers in one of the
fastest growing sectors of the market.

I hope you find it useful. If the convenience channel is

a focus for you, contact us now for more details on
how our Channel Focus shopper research can
help give you a competitive advantage

Michael

Guide author:

Michael Freedman

Shopper insight manager and

convenience shopper expert
michael.freedman@igd.com
01923 851 913

IGD 2014

Convenience store shoppers five top takeaways

1
2

There are a broad range of c-store shopper missions to cater for. Topping-up on staple items is the
primary shopping mission. However, missions differ by c-store segment and by geographic region

Despite shoppers relatively established convenience store missions, opportunities exist for grocery
companies to grow these further or even alter this established behaviour

Shoppers still view c-stores as more expensive than other channels. Shoppers choose c-stores based
primarily on where they can find the best value for money (focusing on both price and quality)

C-store shoppers prioritise better quality ingredients as the added value benefit that appeals to them
most when shopping for food and groceries, followed by more British or locally produced products

Impulse shopping is high in convenience stores. Merchandising tactics influence most c-store shoppers.
Events also provide a significant opportunity to interrupt established shopping behaviour

IGD 2014

Topping up remains the primary shopper mission

Current missions Top 10
1

There are a broad range of

shopper missions we have
identified more than 20 at
convenience stores
Topping up on staple products
such as bread, milk and eggs
remains the main mission of
convenience store shoppers
Buying a newspaper, produce topups, lottery and food-to-go are
other key convenience store
shopper missions

Top-up on staple
products
Buy a

2 newspaper/magazine
3

Buy a snack between

meals

Top-up on fruit and

vegetables

Buy a lottery ticket

Buy alcohol

Buy something for

evening meal

Use cash machine or

get cash back

Buy lunch cold food8

to-go

10

Do main
shopping trip
May13

Aug13

9%
5%

Buy cigarettes or
tobacco

ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month ; June-Aug13

Implications
Developing a range of solutions to
meet different shopper missions will
become even more important in the
future to help retailer differentiation
There are opportunities to increase
trip frequency further by providing
solutions for the wide range of
missions that can be fulfilled in-store
IGD 2014

mission profiles change by c-store segment

Ranking of top five missions by main convenience segment shopped at February 2014
Multiples

Co-operatives

Symbols

Independents

Forecourts

Staple top-up

Staple top-up

Staple top-up

Staple top-up

Petrol

Snacks

Newspapers

Newspapers

Newspapers

Newspapers

Newspapers

Evening meal

Snacks

Tobacco

Staple top-up

Fruit and
Vegetables

Fruit and
Vegetables

Alcohol

Stamps

Snacks

Evening meal

Cash machine

Lottery

Alcohol

Lunch

Multiple shoppers, characterised by a younger, higher social

group profile, are more likely to go there to buy fruit and
vegetables, an evening meal and food-to-go
Symbol shoppers under-index on a range of shopper
missions including snacks, evening meals and food-to-go
Apart from petrol, forecourt shoppers primarily visit to buy
newspapers, snacks and staple items and co-operative
shoppers are most likely to top-up on staple food products
ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month; Dec-Feb14

Implications
Understand the shopper profile
and mission priorities for
individual c-store retailers and
adapt your offer accordingly

IGD 2014

and regions. London stores have different profiles

C-store shopping behaviour
All shoppers

3.9

4.4
3.0

Average number
of missions

London

3.7
2.57 2.71

Average
number of
stores

Average trip
frequency per
week

Selected c-store shopper missions

All shoppers

London

Fruit & vegetables

24%

Alcohol

23%

Tobacco
Breakfast

10%

36%
29%
26%

19%

17%

Main shopping
trip

7%

11%

Special occasion

7%

10%

The convenience channel is accelerating at rapid pace in

London, with the city now showcasing best-in-class
examples
Londoners are shopping more frequently at c-stores,
visiting more stores and conducting more missions than
all c-store shoppers
With Londoners over indexing for online grocery
shopping, it is no surprise that they are also more likely
to go to c-stores to top-up on fresh fruit and vegetables
As a higher proportion of people are working full-time,
c-stores appear to be helping Londoners save time with
breakfast and conducting a main shopping trip

Implications
Higher population density in London may impact shopper missions,
with lack of storage resulting in shoppers making smaller, more
frequent transactions
London has many attributes that make it attractive to grocery
businesses. But it also raises many challenges such as the diversity
of the population. Merely being present in London does not
guarantee success

ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month; Dec-Feb14

IGD 2014

Opportunities exist to alter established missions

Likelihood of using c-stores for each mission
Currently use

Would use

Would not use

Top-up on staple products

Buy a newspaper/magazine

Buy a snack between meals

Top-up on fruit and vegetables

25%

Buy a lottery ticket

25%

Buy alcohol

23%

38%

39%

Buy something for evening meal

22%

39%

39%

Use cash machine or get cash back

21%

43%

39%

Buy lunch cold food-to-go

21%

41%

38%

10

Buy cigarettes or tobacco

20%

9%

33%

58%

29%

35%

36%

41%

28%

31%
30%

45%
32%

15%

Despite shoppers relatively established convenience store

missions, opportunities exist for grocery companies to grow
these further or even alter this established behaviour
Twice as many c-store shoppers would buy cold-food-to-go
(41%) than currently buy them (21%)
There are also significant opportunities to encourage more
snacking and topping up on fruit and vegetables
ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month, June-Aug13

43%

65%

Implications
Effective merchandising tactics
to highlight alternative
missions will be important to
drive store use to shoppers who
currently under-index in certain
missions
IGD 2014

Both price & quality are key drivers of store choice

Extremely important

Top drivers of c-store choice

Prices

40%

Close to home - walking

30%

Opening hours
Product range
Ease of finding products
Ease of getting around store
Promotions
Budgeting
Ease of parking

72%
69%
65%
65%
63%
59%
57%

29%
32%

Product quality

23%
21%
20%
19%
17%
18%

Extremely or very important

47%
43%
42%

Seven in ten c-store shoppers state price and quality as

extremely or very important in driving store choice, rising to
more than 70% of multiple shoppers. Promotions are more
important to multiple and co-operative shoppers
Accessing stores is an important factor in store choice - the
ability to walk to a store from home is particularly
important to independent store shoppers
ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month; Dec-Feb14

Implications
It is important to remember
that more shoppers still expect
to be worse off financially than
better off
How are you helping your cstore partners to stand out for
value?
IGD 2014

While shoppers still view c-stores as more expensive

Convenience versus other types of stores (e.g. supermarkets, hypermarkets, online)
Multiples

Symbols
63%

Co-operatives
68%

Independents
78%

Forecourts
75%

51%

A lot or a little more

expensive
A lot more expensive

16%

20%

22%

9%

15%

24%

20%

12%

14%

6%

22%

17%

19%

7%

20%

More than three in five (61%)

believe convenience stores are a
little or a lot more expensive than
other channels
Multiples (51%) are not perceived
to be as expensive compared to
other segments

A lot cheaper
A lot or a little cheaper
- No different

Implications
With many shoppers still feeling financially squeezed,
becoming shoppers money saving ally by developing
new ideas to help shoppers save money and providing
strong value messages is likely to increase in importance
Are there opportunities to introduce smaller pack sizes
for areas with a higher than average number of single
households?

ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month; Dec-Feb14

IGD 2014

Better quality is prioritised for added value

Top 5 benefits that appeal to c-store shoppers when buying food and groceries apart from price and promotions

1. Better quality

40%

2. British or local

34%

3. Brand name

Brand

33%

4. More convenient/saves time

26%

5. Added health benefits

22%

C-store shoppers prioritise better quality as the added value benefit that
appeals to them most when shopping for food and groceries, particularly
multiple shoppers and Londoners
There is demand from c-store shoppers for British or locally produced
products, ranked second, rising to 47% of Scottish shoppers and 42% of
Welsh shoppers (vs 20% of Londoners)
Brand name is also a key driver of added value for shoppers ranked third
overall, rising to 37% of multiple shoppers (vs 24% for symbol shoppers)

Implications
Can you create
additional demand in
your category beyond
price by educating
shoppers on the
quality ingredients at
point of purchase?

ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month; Dec-Feb14; arrows denote higher ranking vs main store shoppers

IGD 2014

Better quality: In-store excellence

They have an extraordinary range of fruit and vegetables.
The quality is excellent. Shopper, Londis, Ascot

The bread is lovely here. We get

their French bread. I would definitely
pay more for that. Its authentic. It
tastes lovely. Its better than at other
stores. Shopper, Londis, Ascot

The quality of meat here is very, very

good. Shopper, Spar, West Malling

I bought some chicken breasts

stuffed with mozzarella wrapped in
parma ham. I thought thats really
good. Its nicer quality. The individual
packs of fresh chicken are very good.
Its very good quality that you cook.
Shopper, Londis, Ascot

ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month; Dec-Feb14

These marshmallow
cookies are lovely. I only
came in here to get some
milk but they tempted me.
Shopper, Spar, West Malling

IGD 2014

Merchandising influences most c-store shoppers

Majority of shoppers buy some items on
impulse in convenience stores

74%

% claim merchandising has an impact

on their purchase decisions

Impulse shopping is high in convenience stores

as many as three in four (74%) claim to have
purchased an unplanned item on their last trip.
This is very similar to main store shoppers where
76% claim to impulse shop
The majority of shoppers say that a stores
merchandising tactics had an influence on their
purchasing decision on a recent visit to a
convenience store
On shelf signs and labels and end of aisle
displays also rank highly in encouraging purchase
decisions
Price marked packs (PMPs) also rank relatively
highly among convenience store shoppers
(There will be a focus on PMPs in the
Convenience Channel Focus report in June14)
Implications
Having effective and innovative in-store
merchandising alongside a co-ordinated campaign
of above and below the line advertising could
significantly influence product choice decisions

ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month; June-Aug13

IGD 2014

 and events provide and opportunity in c-stores too

% extremely or very important in store choice special
occasion

40%
29%

32%

The importance of special occasions has risen up

shoppers agenda when selecting their main
convenience store
Christmas and New Year appear to have been a
more important driver of c-store choice this year
c-stores became more important for shoppers this
Christmas
Four in ten (40%) cited special occasions as
important in c-store choice in the Christmas week
(compared with 29% in the last quarter)
C-store shoppers were more likely to go to c-stores
in the Christmas week to top-up on fruit and
vegetables (31% vs 24% for the quarter)
Shopping for special occasions particularly appeals
to under 45s (42% compared with just 22% of over
45s)
Implications

Sep-Nov'13 Dec-Feb'14

22-31
Dec'13

What have you taken from your seasonal in-store

activation that particularly worked which could be brought
forward to forthcoming events? This will be essential in
ensuring successful execution of events in 2014
There is a large opportunity for suppliers to work with
retailers to use special occasion displays in-store to create
a more rewarding shopper experience and increase sales

ShopperVista Channel Focus; all shoppers using a convenience store in the last month; Dec-Feb14

IGD 2014

Five things you must consider

The convenience channel is set to grow by more than 30% over the next few years what
are you doing to make sure you understand your shoppers in this channel?

The channel is evolving with more relevant store formats targeting new locations have
you developed a dedicated channel management strategy to ensure you capture this
forecasted growth?

Shoppers are rapidly evolving in this channel with missions and preferences changing
constantly do you know how you can tap into other c-store shopper missions to drive
frequency of shop?

Convenience store shopping is not just about distress purchases are you thinking about
how to encourage increase in weight of purchase through effective merchandising?

Shoppers rate convenience behind other channels when it comes to offering the best
value for money can you create additional demand in your category beyond price by
educating shoppers on the quality ingredients at point of purchase?
IGD 2014

Channel Focus from IGD ShopperVista

provides commercially focused, actionable
insights on shoppers in three high-growth
channels: convenience, discount and online
Get in touch with us today for more
information and begin capitalising on
opportunities with your shoppers in these
channels like never before

E | shopper@igd.com
T | +44 (0) 1923 851 956
IGD 2014