Increasing Convenience Store Profits

Increasing Convenience Store Profits In 2011 By : Jacob M DelHagen

Trends and Convenience Store Statistics for 2011. In fiscal year 2010 it is estimated that 210,000 android phones were sold every day and a staggering 73.7 millioniPhones were sold by Apple alone. With the incredible number of apps and the smooth features of the HTC Android it’s no wonder.

To harvest this vast market our analysts at Techistry Inc. are predicting a trend by convenience store product developers and brand makers to cater to this next generation of consumers. Many of these firms are founded by internet technology companies and have used social networks to market test innovative impulse products for years.

Unfortunately, there is a gap by the convenience store industry to adapt to these products and technologies resulting in the product brand makers driving consumers to internet sites verse stores to purchase their products.

Jacob DelHagen, founder of Techistry, Inc. a software and consumer product development company says, “There is no question at this point that convenience stores are going to need to seamlessly detect and communicate with the internet generation or lose their business. We are constantly seeing new products that are being proved online but have not even been considered by stores chains for sale.”

When we asked how this ties into the mobile wireless markets DelHagen says, ” It’s simple with the right technology and integration. The convenience stores in collaboration with the product manufacturers need to be detecting a smart phone or tablet the very moment it arrives at the store. Once the device is detected they immediately push a coupon or promotion to that device. This is how the internet generation operates, we call them real time sales.”

In a real world example of how this works we looked at Primer® caffeinated breath spray (http://www.itsgotime.com). The company using an in-house mobile app, (with the customers permission) detects a customer arriving at a store and pushes a coupon to their phone 1 minute before checkout. The result is an large increase in sales from traditional poster marketing at a fraction of the cost.

It is estimated less than 3% of the convenience stores have created these types of arrangements and many of them still have limited internet and network access making this type of module difficult. The opportunity for growth in seamless store networks is a tremendous.

On the counter side the lost sales potential due to the c-store and petroleum industry failing to adopt these new internet born products and services is staggering. Our best guess is the lost revenue may very well be in the billions.

The convenience stores have a very unique opportunity to capitalize and grow with this next generation of very sophisticated consumers. However, they also risk becoming the record industry of 1996 and losing an opportunity to transform an entire industry.

By : Jacob M DelHagen