Tech Trends Ahead for 2022

Tiger Fuel’s The Market partners with Ronnoco Coffee for its coffee program. Varieties include breakfast blend, Colombian, extreme caffeine, French vanilla, organic Guatemalan and more.

Cliff’s is also known for its seasonal and unique flavors. During the last quarter of the year, a new flavor is released in October for Halloween, November for Thanksgiving and December for the winter holidays. Cliff’s recently finished serving the Great Pumpkin and Apple Cinnamon flavors and has Mocha Mint available in December. “And then in January, we’re going to go to Half Moon, which is a regional favorite around here; it’s a cookie,” said Thurston.

Finding new, bold and fresh flavors to sell to customers has been a successful strategy for Cliff’s, which caters the flavor to the market. For example, Cliff’s developed a blueberry pancake flavor and specifically marketed it to the younger generations. A dark chocolate raspberry-truffle flavor has also performed well around Valentine’s Day. “We’re just keeping the flavors new and interesting and constantly moving,” said Thurston. Tiger Fuel’s The Market began partnering with Ronnoco Coffee for its coffee program about two years ago. The Market stores offer multiple coffee flavors, including breakfast blend, decaf, dark roast, Colombian, extreme caffeine, French vanilla, African sunrise, Costa Rica and an organic Guatemalan. The Market also features a variety of flavors for its cappuccino, such as hot chocolate, mocha, pumpkin spice (seasonal), French vanilla and caramel.

Both c-store chains offer different creamer and syrup flavors, as well, so shoppers can customize their beverages.

RISE OF THE COLD BREW

In addition to offering exciting new flavors in the hot dispensed segment, retailers have found coldbrew coffee to be in demand.

The Market offers cold brew at four of its locations. “This is new to The Markets due to the trend of what our customers are looking for,” said Dollins. “Next year, I believe that cold coffees will be the trend, and the stronger dark coffees, also. We are a college town, and the students are trending in that direction.”

Two local cold brews it offers are Snowing in Space — both in 12-ounce cold cans and in the coffee area with Kegerators — and Trager Brothers Coffee in 16-ounce cans.

Cliff’s is also watching the growing popularity of cold brew and adapting to the trend. First it tested nitro cold brew, but when that failed to catch on with its customer base, the chain shifted to offering a regular black cold brew and a salted-caramel latte variety that resonate better with its cold-brew customers.

TRADITIONAL BREWING STILL SELLS

While an increasing number of c-stores are trending toward bean-to-cup dispensers due to the improved freshness, quality perception and reduced labor required, some c-store chains, like Cliff’s and The Market, prefer the employee interaction, space-saving attributes and speed that they say traditional brewing allows. For instance, Cliff’s uses soft-heat urns. “Bean-to-cup’s good because it eliminates labor, but with us, we’re committed to labor, to going over there and taking care of it,” said Thurston. “You can get a lot more people in and out when you have six or seven urns fully stocked. (Employees) can fill them up, and you don’t have to wait a minute-and-a-half to get your coffee to come out. You can just pull the nozzle, and you’re good to go. You fill up with your creamers, and you are out the door.”

The Market features one store with bean-to-cup dispensers, but space constraints make it a challenging offering for the location. “It requires more space on our counters, and we just do not have that kind of space,” said Dollins.

While bean-to-cup dispensers offer many benefits for c-stores, traditional brewing remains a classic and efficient option. CSD

TECH TRENDS

AHEAD FOR 2022

While digital automation seems targeted toward large retail operations, simpler solutions for smaller c-store chains are emerging.

Thomas Mulloy • Senior Editor

Retail technology is moving at breakneck speed, making it tough for c-store operators who must juggle running an efficient business while meeting rising customer expectations. Integrating loyalty apps, order ahead, delivery and point-of-sale (POS) systems, while tracking inventory and labor hours, can be daunting.

It doesn’t have to be. New tech is emerging in the coming months that can help retailers test the digital waters without the information overload or busting the budget.

“Here’s why I’m excited, right now, right exactly now in December as we face this new year,” explained Daniel Burrus, futurist, author, disruptive innovation expert and founder of Burrus Research.

“There is more opportunity to grow your c-store and your business than ever in history.”

Tech trends to watch in the year ahead include the rise of frictionless stores, chatbot kiosks that can respond to common customer questions, the ability to order out-of-stocks via automation and delivery.

If you do the same thing over more than three or four times, it can be automated, noted Burrus. Many of those things — like answering questions about what aisle to find a product, whether it’s in stock or even carried at all by your store, directions to the interstate — can be performed by electronic systems.

“The key is,” said Burrus, “if we can get technology to answer customer questions, to free the people that are in the store to do what humans do best — interface with other humans and take their cash — we can make more money.”

Still, many of those systems can demand a heavy upfront investment — something that makes sense for the big chains. But does it make sense for smaller retailers?

“Sometimes the technology’s cool, but it doesn’t really pay for itself,” said Anthony Perrine, owner of two Lou Perrine’s Gas & Grocery stores in Kenosha, Wis. “Or it doesn’t do anything that is really saving that much time and money for a smaller guy.”

While much of the latest retail tech seems out of reach for Perrine, he stays on top of what’s developing, anticipating the day when the cost lowers to the level of his budget. Still, Perrine is tuned into technology.

“I really want to try and get a frictionless store,” Perrine said, explaining that he’s applied for artificial intelligence (AI) grants to help meet the expense. After recently building his second store, he now feels that he would like to build a store around the latest technology, instead of retrofitting an existing structure.

“So that’s something I would absolutely pull the trigger on, if I could get my hands on something like that,” he said.

INFINITE INVENTORY

Integrating automation could become easier for smaller retailers soon. And cheaper, Burrus emphasized. Despite a store’s size or its chain’s wherewithal, Burrus sees the coming of what he calls “infinite inventory.”

Shelf space is at a premium at c-stores — especially for smaller footprints — and getting the optimal product mix is a challenge. As retailers rotate seasonal items onto their shelves, Burrus sees in the very near future the ability to still offer products that have rotated out. With a flat panel monitor or even large tablet, internet access and a website, operators can have an in-store kiosk for ordering out-of-stock items.

Retailers could tie in a delivery service or other outside fulfillment service to cover the last-mile delivery of these items. That technology is available now.

That same customer convenience could extend to a mobile application. Burrus underscored the importance of allowing customers the option to pay with their smartphone, saying that the mobile payment transaction is as fast or faster, and just as secure. Plus, customers expect it and will ask for it.

“When you say no,” Burrus said, the customer will be thinking, “I know that you’re an old-fashioned store, and if I’m a more modern guy, I might try to go somewhere else that can do it the way I want to do it.”

Voice AI is becoming more commonplace, too, especially with today’s labor crunch. Team members need to be doing productive things — like processing sales, stocking product or maintaining the foodservice or beverage areas of the store.

“Time is money,” Burrus said. “The more time you spend on one thing, the less time you’re spending on something else.”

START SMALL, PLAN BIG

And while many of the latest digital platforms may seem financially out of reach for the retailer with fewer than a dozen or so stores, Perrine knows it’s essential to stay on top of what’s happening on the tech front. “I just try to see what’s out there and try to play with it if I can,” he said.

Budgetary hurdles are an issue for many retailers, but there are inexpensive solutions to automating customer in-store inquiries, advised Burrus. Don’t have the budget for a big tech vendor? Start small. He recommends cash-strapped retailers use a Voice AI bot system — like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri or Google Assistant — to get started automating customer questions that distract employees from more important tasks.

Doing nothing could be your business’ death sentence. Beware the comfort of the wait-and-see mindset.

“In the past, a wait-and-see attitude made sense because change was kind of slow,” advised Burrus. “But today, change is coming faster and faster, and you can ‘wait and see’ yourself right out of business — because you’re either going to be more relevant in the marketplace or less. There’s no in between.”CSD

fast facts:

• Tech offers more opportunity than ever to grow a retail business. • Internet and a display can create the infinite inventory. • Voice AI, like Amazon’s Alexa, is an inexpensive tech entry point.