CSP and Technomic predict the c-store retail trends that will reign supreme in 2017.
CHICAGO, Nov. 1, 2016—Winsight and Technomic have collaborated to release the first-ever Convenience Retailing Trends Forecast, announced on http://www.CSPDailyNews.com. CSP magazine’s award-winning editorial team and Technomic’s food industry experts are consistently at the forefront of critical issues and trends, keeping business leaders and key decision makers one step ahead of the competition.
CSP and Technomic’s findings show that strong c-store sales have retailers saying they are optimistic about their business prospects in the fourth quarter. However, with slimmer gasoline margins and increasing competition, owners are now forced to stray from traditional methods when it comes to promoting their products.
“It is a fascinating, exhilarating and maddening time to be in the convenience-retailing industry,” said Abbie Westra, director of retail content for Winsight and editor in chief of CSP magazine. “The competition is fierce from players old and new who are out to steal the concept of convenience in the retail space. But many of those same threats are opening the door to new opportunities to serve the consumer in ways never before imagined.”
Highlights from Winsight’s 2017 Convenience Retailing Trends Forecast include:
- Services 2.0. Key making, in-store bill pay and at-the-pump ordering are now in play at c-stores, which will increasingly employ new, unheard-of service platforms to get consumers out of their homes and into stores.
- Balancing the c-store diet. C-stores are now embracing a better balance between health and indulgence to meet the evolving demand for nutritional products without alienating core consumers.
- The regulation of everything. There’s no escaping regulation. It seemingly touches everything in the retail space, including age-old targets such as wages and tobacco products. The coming year will reveal best practices emerging from retail leaders.
To inquire about food industry trend-tracking insights from this forecast and others produced by Winsight, contact Elizabeth Reardon at 312-506-3843, or ereardon@technomic.com. To view the full forecast, visit http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/general-merchandise/articles/winsight-s-2017-convenience-retailing-trends#page=0