Incisiv
This is an executive summary report based on Incisiv’s analysis of the digital presence of leading convenience store chains in North America.
convenience store chains / banners and delivery providers in US.
digital attributes studied for each banner.
data points from Incisiv’s industry data pool.
convenience executive survey.
Why have digital transformation efforts not yielded full benefits for businesses across industries?
2020 has become the year of inflection for convenience chains. COVID-19 has changed the revenue mix and forced convenience chains to re-strategize and execute in an environment few have ever seen. Convenience store chains have been forced to adopt new digital capabilities and fulfillment methods in order to remain relevant as customers have gone mobile-first. While convenience chains are expected to grow with a CAGR of 2.5-3.2% between 2020-2024, the revenue mix will likely change. Many of the habits formed during the pandemic will remain and chains must adapt for the long-term.
Convenience store digital maturity has always been lower than other retail segments. However, with changing customer expectations, retailers have to prioritize their investments smartly to derive highest ROI. Retailers with a higher digital maturity on Incisiv’s maturity scale have managed to generate greater value from their digital channels while controlling their dependence on their physical channels, thus acting as a strong base for continued future growth.
While Incisiv benchmarked over 200 chains in this analysis, less than half (97) have any digital presence at all. Therefore the analysis is based on a ranking of the Top 97 convenience store chains in US and Canada based on the performance of their mobile application (app). The performance analysis covers three stages of the shopper journey: Research & Discovery, Ordering & Fulfillment, and Customer Support & Service. Two separate leaderboards were prepared, one for the brands which have commerce functionality and one for brands that do not have commerce functionality on their mobile application.