Follow the C-Store Data: 5 Action Items for CPG Brands

With strategic collaboration between CPG brands and convenience retailers on the rise, brands should be seeking out every competitive advantage possible. But do you have the right combination of experience, expertise, and data-driven insights to get closer to your c-store retail partners?

Extracting valuable insights from data can reveal new ways to make a bigger splash in the convenience channel. Whether your goal is to speed up your decision-making, optimize your marketing strategy, or grow your revenue, data-driven insights are key to your success.

Start with these five steps to leverage data about consumer behaviors, industry trends, and market gaps to gain a competitive advantage in the convenience channel.

1. Get to know c-store customers better

C-store shoppers are unique from consumers across different retail channels. Getting to know their preferences and behaviors helps you create more personalized offers and services.

• Drill down into consumer behaviors: C-store shoppers prioritize convenience. Think fast grab-and-go purchases like beverages, snacks, and quick meals. Use data analytics tools to track foot traffic patterns and daypart activity to identify peak shopping times—then customize your promotions with your top impulse purchase products.
• Pinpoint individual preferences: Go deeper to determine who is buying which products at what times—and how varying your offers can impact purchasing frequency and sales. For example, are you seeing trends that could lead to potential product gaps, expansions, or growth areas?

2. Optimize your marketing campaigns

The more you know what c-store customers want and how they behave, you can engage with them much more effectively.

• Get hyper-personal: Data analytics and metrics help you track campaign performance, right down to individual promotions so you can reach shoppers with the right offers at the right time. Track what content and channels resonate with key audiences, then create highly targeted messages that boost engagement for greater impact.
• Refine your product mix: Use data-driven insights to help identify the right product mix for individual stores based on local demand, optimizing product placement for maximum visibility. Continually watch for new market trends, changing behaviors, and unmet needs to drive product innovation.

3. Enhance your operational efficiency

Beyond customer analysis and marketing campaigns, you can also use data-driven insights to optimize your operations and reduce costs.

• Peer into the future: Leverage data analytics to better anticipate demand, so you can avoid stockouts and overstocking. Modern predictive analytics based on historical data and machine learning analysis are great for honing your forecasts to help manage inventory.
• Tighten supply chain management: Do you have access to data that can help you identify bottlenecks in your distribution channels or gaps in inventory management? Understanding price elasticity, seasonal patterns, and shifting regional demands can also help you optimize your operations.

4. Boost your profitability

When the goal of business is to make money, increasing your profitability should always be a top priority. This is yet another area where reliable, real-time data can help ensure sustainable financial success.

• Create new revenue streams: Deeper analysis of key market trends can reveal new opportunities to differentiate your products and campaigns. Use this analysis to segment more effectively, optimize pricing, improve conversion rates, and boost overall sales performance.
• Maximize profitability: Do you have access to competitive data? If so, you can closely track your competitors, benchmark your performance, and adjust your product pricing strategies to increase profitability, even when facing a wide range of dynamic market conditions.

5. Strengthen your convenience retail partnerships

If you can accomplish steps 1-4, you’ll be well on your way to building stronger relationships with your c-store partners. But there are additional ways to collaborate for mutual benefit.

• Hone your retail strategy: Share your data-backed insights with your convenience retail partners to reveal the value of your products and brand. Provide trustworthy data that convinces them to elevate your products with priority placement and promotion.
• Get the complete picture: Using location data helps you work more strategically with c-stores to align your merchandizing efforts and promotions based on a common understanding of shopper behavior and preferences. And don’t forget about data from independent operators, which can give you a much more comprehensive view of the entire convenience channel.

Get started today

Make sure you’re maximizing the full value of your data-driven insights in the convenience retail market. If you need an experienced partner to help you collaborate with top retailers, PDI experts can help you get there faster. Contact us.