March 26, 2020: The Golden Opportunity For Local Corner Stores
Hi everyone,
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On to the update.
The Golden Opportunity For Local Corner Stores
In my neighborhood we have a fancy corner store. It’s not particularly cheap, the selection is not particularly huge, and it’s not open as late as the big box grocery store 15 minutes away.
Prior to coronavirus, I only ever saw a few people in there at a time, and I didn’t shop there so frequently. But now, it’s my go-to for groceries because the big box stores are a mess. And I’m certainly not the only one who is doing this, judging by the lines at my local shop.
This might be a golden opportunity for small, local grocery and corner stores. They’re allowed to remain open (when many of their neighbors are not), and suddenly people aren’t so price-sensitive. Customers they build now might build habits that persist long after coronavirus passes.
A retailer could capitalize on this by:
Dramatically ramping up their fresh food availability — they now have the foot traffic to justify it.
Instituting a loyalty program that requires no extra touching and little extra time. There must be solutions out there, I’m curious if you are aware of them.
Ask each customer during checkout what they weren’t able to find at the store that day, and then go stock that item (if possible).
Getting to know customers on a first-name basis. This is tricky because you don’t want to linger, but might be easier than normal because the same because people are coming in more frequently. My local shop looks at the name on the credit card to know who each person is, and then thanks them by name.
Consider starting a trusted home-delivery program just for the local neighborhood. A good way to keep the lines at the store shorter, and support high-risk individuals like elderly residents.
The long-term trend still seems to be tilted in favor of online delivery, but perhaps that coexists with smaller corner stores rather than with big box stores. And when an opportunity this big comes along, it’s worth chasing.
Thanks for reading.
Take care,
Andrew