FEATURE
MASTERING ON-DEMAND DELIVERY Third-party apps and in-house offerings for delivery continue to explode in the c-store market By Tammy Mastroberte CONVENIENCE STORES started dabbling in delivery, especially for foodservice items, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, once mandatory lockdowns stopped customers from driving — cutting down on their need to stop for gas, or commute to work and stop for breakfast — everything changed. Delivery options started exploding in all industries, including the c-store market, at an accelerated pace.
“We actually started in-house delivery with Vroom at one location back in March 2019, one full year before COVID 70 Convenience Store News C S N E W S . c o m
hit, and didn’t expand until after COVID started,” said Krystal Rademacher, retail accounting supervisor at Quality Dairy Co., based in Lansing, Mich. The company operates 20 c-stores in the greater Lansing area. Quality Dairy’s entry into delivery started off slower than anticipated in 2019, Rademacher recalled, because it took time for the retailer to understand its place in the market and the relevance of delivery. But after COVID hit, things picked up. “COVID proved there is relevance for delivery in c-stores, and we did very well and have been doing very well during COVID,” she explained. “What has been amazing is it has given us a ton of data and we had the
