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Hello!

Welcome to the 30th edition of Always Be Convenient, the weekly newsletter for convenience leaders driving growth in a digital world. All of the previous issues are available in the archives.

This week I am coming off of Convenience Retailing University (CRU) in Nashville, TN; it’s the only event dedicated to convenience category managers. There were category deep dives, talk of trends, and plenty of discussion on digitization.

Digital is no longer a digital-only conversation. It’s a force impacting the entire organization – from marketing and merchandising to human resources and operations.

And although segments of our industry may still be slightly behind their peers, the future of convenience isn’t coming far off in the future – it’s already here.

If you missed the event this week and are curious to know more, just hit reply to this email and I’d be happy to fill you in on how things went.

Conveniently,
Mike

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Points of connection

Often when we talk about digital in relation to the store, we are focused on introducing new digital points of connection. These opportunities to connect with customers – like mobile apps, email sign-ups, QR codes, and more – aim to digitize what is otherwise an analog experience.

The challenge for retailers is in convincing consumers to go out of their way to connect.

Many brands will lean into incentives to draw customers in. It could be 10¢ off fuel when you download the app, a free drink when you share your email, or simply the promise of ‘more information’ when scanning a QR code.

For every action requested by the retailer, there must be an equal (or more valuable) incentive available to the customer.

This value exchange – an action for a reward – purely plays out as quid pro quo.

If your customer believes the action is worth the reward, they will comply. But this can become expensive if you’re only ever buying a connection with your customer.

One example I experienced several times this week while traveling was a similar type of exchange, but I found it even more compelling than the typical offering.

While sitting in the airport in Des Moines, Minneapolis, and Atlanta, each of them offered up something of significant value to today’s consumer: free Wi-Fi.

With the speed of modern cellular networks and the connectivity available through mobile devices, you may wonder whether public Wi-Fi is still relevant.

If consumers are out of their coverage zone or inside a building that is dampening their connectivity, getting a boost from a wired Wi-Fi signal can be very convenient.

• In Des Moines I was offered free Wi-Fi in exchange for watching an ad

• In Minneapolis I took a survey to share more about why I was traveling

• In Atlanta I was enrolled in a loyalty program and awarded points for connecting

Convenience stores have invested heavily in Wi-Fi connectivity to power the multitude of in-store technology now seen as critical to the day-to-day operations of a store. Many make the same connection (or a parallel public network) available to their customers.

If you have a customer-facing Wi-Fi network available, you may consider these opportunities to connect it to your broader customer ecosystem:

• Encourage customers to connect in exchange for contact information

• Allow customers to sign in with loyalty for easy access to account details

• Offer free Wi-Fi exclusively to loyalty members, driving new sign-ups

• Use your Wi-Fi connection page as a retail media opportunity

There’s still a value exchange for sure, but the difference from typical tactics is that maintaining a high-quality internet connection is of incredible value to your customers.

How you’ll execute the experience for your brand will depend on your infrastructure and your strategy. Whatever you do, don’t leave this opportunity to connect go untouched.

Do you offer Wi-Fi to your customers? Are you collecting any information about consumers who connect? I’d be happy to talk through how to capitalize on this chance to connect. Just reply to this email and we can find time to talk.