01
AI and loyalty are being used in the same sentence, often. Consumer stickiness is emerging as a place where AI can move from out of the back and into central position for the consumer. Predicting behavior and personalizing offers are two places to gain retention and give people more of what they want in the first thirty seconds is leading to compound purchases.
02
But does it work? One of our favorite quotes was from Ian Livesay from Epson: "For operators, this shift highlights the importance of adopting versatile technologies that seamlessly integrate with evolving service models and perform reliably during peak periods." There are a lot of promises out there, but what are the dependencies? What kind of work does it take upfront, and then understanding reliability under heavy load. C-Stores are a 24/7 business after all.
03
Three product categories are gaining market share for C-Stores: unique flavors, nostalgia or throwback rebrands, and limited-time offers. AI products that are flexible enough to handle multi-SKU changes and the constant in and out of experimental inventory are emerging as front runners.
04
C-Stores long touted as behind in technology advancements are rising to the forefront and building multi-pronged tech strategies to address purchase attrition. Shelf sensors, license plate recognition, self-checkout, and curated content are the front runners for piloting and change.
