高端加油站便利店“钱”景几何
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最新研究报告指出，加油站的便利店要做好生意，就应该“升级换代”。考虑到这个行业本来就利润微薄，而且光顾这种店的客人往往来去匆匆，这个提法听起来似乎难免有点违背常识。 问题的关键是，顾客越来越多地只是在加油机旁刷卡走人，却从来不会走进加油站的便利店。这意味着很少会有人心血来潮去店里购买立体脆（Doritos）、山露威士忌（Mountain Dew）和肯尼•罗根斯的精选专辑（Kenny Loggins compilation albums）。不过，由便利店和加油站零售业协会（Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing）及可口可乐零售研究委员会（Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council）联合撰写并于周三在芝加哥发布的报告称，将加油站便利店改造为提供特定服务的商店，比如提供新鲜食品，能提高收入。 这个问题的另一个重要方面在于，其他类型的零售商也在日益加强竞争，与便利店争抢生意。这份报告称，小卖部、巨型零售商和超市全都在“努力争取便利店式的生意”。人们付钱加油时，可能会想来上一包花生巧克力糖（Butterfinger），但想想反正还得去塔吉特超市（Target）买纸巾，为什么不干脆去那儿一块儿买了呢？ 通过提供新鲜烘焙的食物、高品质咖啡，甚至多种新鲜食品，便利店能让顾客愿意走进店里，甚至逗留一会儿。不过这份报告也强调指出，一个关键因素在于，在这种店里的购物体验应该是轻松愉悦的。这一点与人们通常印象中对便利店的印象格格不入，它们档次不高、照明过度又装修蹩脚，让人感觉它们似乎是有意不让顾客停留太久。在便利店发展史的大部分时间里，让顾客“抓起就走”（Grab and go）是贯穿其中的指导思想。 要实施这类重大升级当然是既费钱，又冒险。美国商业杂志《克瑞恩芝加哥商业》（Crain's Chicago Business）曾揣测加油站便利店是否会成为“下一代全食品超市”，并引述了一位当地便利店店主通过升级而做大生意的经历。不过，虽然提升这种小店的吸引力并不需要下血本，但很难想象，“高端加油站便利店”真的会遍地开花。 译者：清远 |
A new report concludes that gas-station convenience stores should go "upscale" to boost business, a notion that might sound counterintuitive given the industry's slim profit margins as well as the fact that most shoppers at such stores are in a hurry. Problem is shoppers increasingly swipe their credit cards at the pump, never entering the store at all. That means fewer impulse purchases of Doritos, Mountain Dew and Kenny Loggins compilation albums. Turning a gas-station shop into more of a destination by, for example, offering fresh foods, can boost bottom lines, according to the report (pdf) prepared by the Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing and the Coca-Cola (KO) Retailing Research Council and presented Wednesday in Chicago. Another big part of the problem is that other kinds of retailers are increasingly competing with convenience stores for shoppers. Drug stores, big-box retailers, and supermarkets are all "trying to win their convenience business," says the report. And when you're paying for your gas, you might think to yourself that you'd like a Butterfinger, but you need to stop at Target (TGT) for paper towels anyway so why not just pick it up there? By offering fresh baked goods, high-quality coffee, and even a wide selection of fresh produce, convenience stores can offer incentives to enter the store and even linger over the merchandise for a while. One crucial element, the report notes, is that the shopping experience should be pleasant. That runs counter to the usual image of grungy, overlit, ill-decorated stores that seem designed to dissuade people from hanging around too long. "Grab and go" has been the philosophy of the convenience industry throughout most of its history. Such big upgrades, of course, are expensive and risky. Crain's Chicago Business, which wondered whether gas stations are "the next Whole Foods," cited one local convenience store owner who seems to have thrived by going upscale. But while making convenience stores less unpleasant couldn't hurt, it's hard to imagine "high end convenience" becoming a widespread trend. |
