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Hello!

Welcome to the 31st 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 in Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend CStore Connections, the recently rebranded annual conference for the National Advisory Group. Retailers will gather from across the country to connect, converse, and learn from one another.

Topics on the table include everything that’s relevant to convenience today: foodservice, loyalty, tobacco, technology, traffic, and more.

I will be leading a session on loyalty during Connections’ Burning Issues sessions. My time at Casey’s and Kum & Go gave me great perspective on how loyalty can impact the business. In these sessions I’ll share my point of view, but we’ll also hear from everyone else in the room that is navigating the challenges of growth.

Sharing is how we learn and grow together. Let’s get to it!

Conveniently,
Mike

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Please update your app

Did you know both Apple and Android offer a setting that allows you to auto-update the apps on your device?

The feature tends to be a default setting today, which many app developers and security professionals will appreciate because it keeps consumers running on the latest possible version of software.

Having managed multiple retail apps over the years myself, I never had auto-updates turned on. I wanted to ensure I could monitor the update progress, test for any issues, and track what was happening as apps were updated.

In fact, I became very familiar with Apple and Google’s app consoles – even as a business leader – because the convenience apps I managed had become such a big part of the business.

How do you know if you have auto-updates enabled? One telltale sign is your familiarity with screens like this popping up in your favorite apps.

Retailers use these app update prompts to push consumers to download the latest version of the app. In my experience we would see about 60% of customers update to the new app version within the first week of its release. After that we would trigger our app update screen to help encourage more customers to upgrade.

For most consumers these are probably an annoyance, but they’re actually quite useful for retailers.

Consumers tend to get frustrated with these alerts because they seem to pop up at the most inconvenient times – like when trying to check your loyalty balance or attempting to pay for an order. Has that ever happened to you?

Retailers like to use these prompts because they are attention-grabbing, often running as full-screen takeovers in the app. These prompts can also create an opportunity to alert customers to something that is new and different.

One thing to keep in mind when using app update screens is to consider how to make them convenient for your customers.

•  Give people an option to dismiss the update

• Allow consumers to be reminded again next time

• Include an app store link to easily update the app

At some point you may need to force the customer to upgrade due to technical constraints or your ability to support the older version. As you think about your own cadence, consider what you’re asking your customer to do – and how often.

Some reports show common consumer apps update on a regular basis – as often as weekly – but many retailers are updating once a month or less depending on their release cadence.

For me personally, I actually look forward to being pinged about app updates. It means there’s something new to review, and I often find myself combing through the refreshed app to see if I can spot what has changed.

Just remember that not every consumer is like me, and you yourself may not even be your average customer.

Anything that is inconvenient is simply working against your goals as a convenience retailer.

If your app can be a source of enjoyment versus annoyance, you’ll be well on your way to creating long-term loyalty.