The most intuitive impression of convenience stores is 'convenience,' but this idea is outdated. Successful convenience stores need to achieve the following:

  1. Life solutions;

  2. Seeking excitement and novelty;

  3. Approaching and creating life themes;

  4. Unique private-label products;

  5. Collectibles close to life. This article is sourced from New Retail Think Tank Kenneth C. (ID:newretailinsider) Recently, the retail industry has been discussing that convenience stores are a new trend in the retail sector. According to the '2017 China Convenience Store Development Report' jointly released by the China Chain Store & Franchise Association and Boston Consulting Group, the total sales of China's convenience store industry reached 133.4 billion yuan in 2016, an increase of 13% year-on-year. As a rapidly growing business format in China, the most direct keyword that convenience stores give to customers is 'convenience.' The word 'convenience' can be concretized into customers' shopping missions, including 'on-the-go,' 'emergency,' and 'de-stress.' But these ideas are actually outdated. The author's hometown is Hong Kong (but has worked in Shanghai for 7 years). This article takes Hong Kong convenience stores (mainly 7-11 and Circle-K) as examples to explain why successful convenience stores create a 'lifestyle' rather than just providing 'convenience.' 1. Life Solutions This point is most related to convenience. Based on the large number of convenience store locations (many are relatively close to communities), plus their long operating hours (generally defined as more than 16 hours), they can indeed provide many convenience services, such as cash withdrawals, utility and mobile phone bill payments, and logistics pickup. The key words for life solutions are 'right time, right place.' These convenience services use all means to bring customers into the store; as long as they enter the store, there is a possibility of consumption. Some convenience services provided by Hong Kong convenience store Circle-K (image from official website). 2. Seeking Excitement and Novelty The average age of convenience store customers is relatively young. These customers like to try new things; in marketing terms, they are 'early adopters.' In order to retain these customers and allow them to be the first to post on social media, today's convenience stores have become an important platform for new product launches. Many manufacturers even use convenience stores as a testing platform, and after fine-tuning, they launch nationwide promotions. Hong Kong Circle-K convenience store's brand positioning is 'Dare to Try, Dare to Innovate,' with a clear positioning (image from official website). Hong Kong 7-11 regularly has a column for new products (image from official website). Shanghai's FamilyMart also has more and more products launched first (image inside Shanghai FamilyMart store). 3. Approaching and Creating Life Themes Turning convenience stores into a 'lifestyle' means seamlessly integrating them into people's lives. This can be discussed in terms of a day and a year. Convenience stores are extremely space-constrained, and flexible display and business models can cater to customers' needs at different times of the day. For example, customers in the morning are in a hurry, so sandwiches displayed in open refrigerators + drink combos + newspapers would be a very good combination. At lunchtime, the focus is on boxed meals; in the afternoon, there are various afternoon tea sets (such as the common chicken leg + milk tea in Hong Kong); and for late-night snacks, more instant noodles might be placed. Hong Kong 7-11's open refrigerator display (taken in Hong Kong). On the other hand, convenience stores also use different festivals for 'occasion-based marketing.' In addition to traditional festivals (such as Valentine's Day) and international events (such as the World Cup), convenience stores are also good at creating new themes, repackaging old products into new themes, and creating new shopping impulses. Hong Kong 7-11 Valentine's Day redemption activity (Hong Kong newspaper advertisement). Hong Kong Circle-K beer refrigerator with World Cup event reminder (taken in Hong Kong). Hong Kong 7-11 promotes a series of products under the theme of 'Ice and Fire' (Hong Kong newspaper advertisement). Hong Kong Circle-K creates a theme with flavors 'ginger' and 'spicy' (Hong Kong newspaper advertisement). 4. Unique Private-Label Products Having unique private-label products can be said to be the most direct way to create a differentiated advantage. The author uses several examples to illustrate this point: Convenience store + coffee is the latest trend. Convenience stores also create private labels when promoting coffee (Hong Kong newspaper advertisement): Slurpee is one of 7-11's very successful private labels. (Baidu Baike introduction: Slurpee is a crushed ice drink developed by 7-Eleven convenience stores, first launched in 1967. The difference between Slurpee and other ice products is that it directly freezes a mixture of syrup and carbonated water into a slushy form, which is different from the production method of ordinary crushed ice or slush, so its taste is cooler than soda or slush. It is only sold at 7-Eleven and is also one of its registered trademarks.) 7-Signature is also a brand for its cooked food. The relatively affordable price does not make consumers feel that they are buying low-quality products. Although it is not super delicious, it has a kind of sentiment. In the Hong Kong movie 'Love in a Puff,' there is a similar plot, showing that convenience stores are part of life. Screenshot from the movie 'Love in a Puff' 5. Collectibles Close to Life Stamp redemption is not a new marketing method in China, but if redemption can be turned into a brand image and differentiate from other retailers, that is true success. In this regard, Hong Kong's 7-11 convenience stores have mastered it perfectly. In recent years, Hong Kong's 7-11 has had stamp redemption activities all 365 days a year. Each event lasts about 2 months. The operation method is that consumption exceeds a threshold (usually HK$20, and then one stamp for every HK$10), and after collecting a certain number of stamps, customers can redeem collectibles at random. Generally, these collectibles are cartoon characters that young people like nowadays, and they are exquisitely made, so they can indeed become collectibles (rather than worthless gifts). Because the redeemed gifts are random, collecting a full set requires some perseverance (or buying at high prices on the second-hand market). Based on these activities, consumers will gradually make convenience stores the first choice for habitual consumption in life (such as breakfast, coffee, snacks, magazines, etc.). At the same time, this also creates a platform for manufacturers to participate, and individual products can earn extra stamps. Summary: After reading the above 5 examples, everyone will feel that convenience stores, at the forefront of consumption upgrades, not only provide convenience but also lead customers to a new lifestyle. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, consumers in large Chinese cities have generally surpassed physiological needs. A new lifestyle makes customers more willing to exchange money for convenience, saving more time for more meaningful things. At the same time, when solving physiological needs (such as being thirsty on the road), consumption needs to satisfy quality and personalization, so more novel and fun new products appear in convenience stores, and there are also many redemption activities that bring extra consumption pleasure. -END-