relevanC is a Business Reporter client
With annual growth of 9 Around the world, convenience stores have proven remarkably resilient. In France, for example, while the overall grocery market has struggled against an inflationary headwind and seen sales decline over the past two years, over the same period, sales at convenience stores have continued to grow. increase.
Increasing urbanization, busier lifestyles and the hangover from Covid-19 lockdowns are aforementioned as some of the main reasons why customers increasingly prefer to shop locally. But they also like the fact that many convenience stores offer a range of services – post offices, ATMs or even baggage checks – simply and without complications.
Retailers and their suppliers therefore need to make the most of the huge growth potential that convenience offers.
To do this, they must address the specific needs of customers who visit convenience stores. People go to convenience stores because, simply put, they are convenient. They are designed for quick and easy shopping, and customers always know what they want and where in the store to find it. Unlike supermarkets on the outskirts of town or in retail parks, convenience store customers tend to shop quickly.
Retailers and brands therefore need to be innovative. They need to find ways to collect data on customers who spend little time in stores, develop advertising methods and experiment with new products in stores with limited advertising and shelf space.
In short, only those who go the extra mile to build an accurate picture of convenience store customers and their purchasing behaviors (and, more importantly, ensure their products are convenient in and of themselves) will capitalize on this growing and strategic space.
The value of a single vision
One French retail group has been able to do just that. Casino Group, which owns brick-and-mortar chains such as Monoprix, Franprix, Casino, Spar, Naturalia and Vival, has developed highly effective strategies to improve the customer experience in convenience stores, thereby earning their loyalty.
This is achieved through the use of data strategically collected and collated by relevanC, the Group's retail media and data management subsidiary.
relevanC, one of Europe’s most innovative retail data organizations, has created a centralized repository, or DataHub, for Casino Group’s wide range of point-of-sale data: customer data, sales data, advertising inventory data, assortment data, product data, store data and more.
The creation of a DataHub allows Casino Group to now have a single view of the millions of data points from customers using its convenience stores. From this data resource, relevanC has created a suite of tools and services perfectly tailored to local commerce, from customer segmentation to personalized promotions.
“With a market share in Paris of over 40% and a very strong local presence throughout France, Casino Group’s convenience supermarket chains serve a unique customer base,” says relevanC CEO Olivier Morin.
“By collecting and centralizing data from the group’s different retailers, we can offer accurate business insights for the group, as well as a single point of access for brands looking to reach convenience store customers on a large scale.”
This brings additional value. relevanC has been able to use another category of data stored in its Datahub (promotional data, drawn from the budgets each brand allocates to promotions) to develop personalized AI-driven promotions or special offers for convenience store customers.
These promotions are complementary to the more generic promotions that have traditionally been offered in stores, as they are based on the purchasing habits of each customer and reach the customer in a meaningful way wherever they are in the purchasing process: ads on social networks, WhatsApp, chatbot, mobile application, cash receipt.
While the value of personalization on a purely sales front is well known (according to some studies80 percent of customers are more likely to make a purchase when a brand offers a personalized experience), but less well-known are the additional benefits it brings.
Beyond improving sales, tailored promotions support a variety of different marketing objectives for Casino Group retailers and suppliers, whether it be customer loyalty or attraction, brand awareness or promoting the launch of a new product.
“At Group Casino, we focus on leveraging data in all its forms to create the best shopping experience for our customers, whether that’s personalizing every touchpoint in the purchasing process or simply ensuring that the product a customer is looking for is available in their local store,” says Olivier Morin.
Keeping customers satisfied
Everyone knows the frustration that comes with a store not having exactly what you need. In a convenience store where shelf space limits the assortment, this is felt even more acutely by customers whose need is often specific and urgent.
That’s why one final data set from relevanC is proving so transformative for Casino Group stores: logistics data. relevanC uses cameras in stores to monitor individual shelves, and by combining this with customer and sales data, both the retailer and the brand can work together to minimise out-of-stocks and optimise assortment.
“Data is the cornerstone of effective assortment planning,” says Olivier Morin. “By leveraging advanced analytics and real-time information, we are empowering the Group’s retailers to select assortments tailored to individual customer preferences, ensuring that the right product reaches the right customer in the right place.”
Visit Relevance.com to learn more about how relevanC uses retail data innovation to support Casino Group and its suppliers.
