GENERAL MERCHANDISE
MAKE WAY FOR MERCHANDISE
Why a less traditional approach to buying general merchandise is good news for convenience and roadside retail, writes Thomas Oakley-Newell.
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onvenience was king for consumers during the pandemic, with travel restrictions in place and a desire to avoid high-traffic locations, it was no surprise that we saw an uptick in the amount of people looking for items at convenience stores that they normally wouldn’t. Daniel Avrahami, Director, Smooth Wholesales, has noticed an increase in “less traditional” products such as toys, activity sets, puzzles, kid’s books, LED torches and general novelty products. “We attribute this to a change in how consumers view petrol and convenience (P&C) locations. In the past, consumers would see a petrol station as a place to fill up their car, get some milk and the newspaper and be on their way. “Those days are gone, and consumers demand more from P&C operators. More specifically, they expect a well-rounded product offering that includes, attractive food and drink options, a wide range of mobile phone, smoking and auto accessories, the latest sunglasses designs, toys, games, novelty products and the list goes on!” 22 February/March 2022 | C&I | www.c-store.com.au
Ben Coleman, General Manager of Commercial and E-Commerce at Pacific Optics, also recognised that customers who moved over to the channel for the first time over the pandemic were continuing to shop there. “Customers who migrated and experienced the convenience channel for the first time during Covid are now staying with the channel since realising what was on offer. In particular, practical items such as reading glasses and work from home essentials like cables and headphones are being picked up by the new customers in the channel.” Coleman said the P&C channel is what it what Pacific Optics is founded upon and what they are passionate about. “The P&C channel is dynamic, and we are built around being agile to meet our customer and the channel’s needs.” Yaniv Peleg, Director of Peleguy Distribution, said the P&C channel is extremely important as it currently generates 95 per cent of its business.
