Making the shopping trip convenient, quick and easy continues to be a priority for time-pressed consumers... and a continuing opportunity for retailers. Shoppers' growing need for convenience has propelled the rapid growth of convenience formats. In addition, many retailers have made enhancements to their current stores to make the trip more convenient. These stepwise strides include longer store hours, more parking, wider aisles and more streamlined checkouts. However, much remains to make the shopping trip truly convenient, such as eliminating it altogether.
World's first drive-thru grocery store
To that end, AutoTram®, a division of parent company AutoCart, represents a new concept in automated shopping. Targeted at customers stopping to fill their cars with fuel, this drive-thru order and delivery system brings items from the store out to the pump, virtually eliminating the need to enter the store. As AutoTram President Al Jervinsky explains, " ...the shopper is stationary and we bring the stores to them, and they can make whatever selection they want".
Called a 'conveyance store', customers enter their order at the pump, which houses a self-serve kiosk and ATM. Once the order is received via touchscreen, desired items are picked and packed by store personnel and then conveyed via a transporter to the car - usually in less than five minutes. Although customers will also be able to place orders remotely by phone or email, most are expected to use the kiosk at the pump.
The parent company, AutoCart, has developed and licensed the proprietary conveyance technology that can be retrofitted inside existing small box stores. Jervinsky terms AutoTram a reverse mall concept "that truly works" following on the heels of earlier concepts that used an unreliable version of the technology. In contrast, AutoTram's transporter technology has been used by McDonald's drive-thrus for over a decade without issue. In theory, this implementation will be faster, and ultimately more convenient, than a drive-thru because of the elimination of lines, along with dual purposing because consumers will already be at the pump, getting fuel. Orders will be picked, packed and delivered in the time it takes to fill the tank. Store staffing is expected to be light, with approximately two pickers per store.
The first transporters are currently being retrofitted into four existing stores of a 130 convenience store chain in the Midwest, due to open in early 2008. These stores will have three islands and 18 delivery points.
A new way to grab-and-go
Growing numbers of consumers can now claim long working hours and busy lifestyles, and a shortage of time or energy for the traditional shopping trip - particularly if that means a long wait at checkout. A study from UK consulting firm Conchango (2006) found many shoppers resent having to shop at weekends, with as many as two-thirds of women reporting feeling stressed. Further, it has long been the case in the US that women have shunned the convenience store, due to concerns about safety, cleanliness and overall store experience.
In pre-testing their conveyance concept, AutoTram research indicated that an overwhelming majority of focus group participants liked the concept (92 percent), with equal appeal across age and gender. An almost equally high number (86 percent) did not understand how the conveyance concept would work, but would be keen to use it anyway - signalling how interested shoppers are in any innovation that might improve the shopping trip. Despite AutoTram's wish to appeal to all shoppers, this concept bodes well for moms that shop - particularly mothers who can now leave their kids in their car seats as they have groceries conveyed to the car along with the fuel on the way home from school.
A destination conveyance store
The new small box store with a prepared foods focus will feature fresh produce, bakery, ready meals, a DVD rental kiosk and photo centre, along with typical convenience store fare - cold drinks, snacks, coffee, cigarettes and newspapers. The fresh grill and bakery will serve made-to-order menu items, and plans include a gelato bar. Plans are also in the pipeline to include a pharmacy, and some locations will enable customers to pay bills at the pump via a bill payment centre. Small stores, limited SKUs, but with a heavy prepared foods focus makes this an ideal grab-and-go store concept (with a twist) to serve the fill-in shopping needs of consumers.
Continuing interest in creating a more convenient shopping trip is fostering increased experimentation in store concepts, merchandising, and payment systems. Convenience retailing will become a significant force in the future as small gets big, and conventional convenience store operators will need to adapt and take advantage of this growing trend. These radical new innovations to make the shopping trip truly convenient mean that AutoTram is posed to change the way people think about buying groceries.
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