NACS Magazine introduced a new column earlier this year, “In Context,” authored by NACS Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Jeff Lenard. Each month, Jeff’s column shares the NACS perspective on some of the “big picture” issues facing our industry, and what NACS is doing to address those issues — both within the industry and to the larger audience of customers and potential customers. Jeff can be reached at jlenard@nacsonline.com or (703) 518-4272.
Younger consumers love convenience stores. Why? Because our industry satisfies these youthful consumers’ needs very well. We sell extended hours of operation, allowing them to buy food on their schedule — not during a predetermined lunch or dinner hour. We offer speed of service to a group that considers multi-tasking a permanent condition. And most of all, in their minds — and in their lifetimes — convenience stores have always offered great food.
In fact, younger consumers love convenience stores so much that USA Today proclaimed in a February headline, “Millennials Crave Convenience Stores Most of All.” However, it’s not just the Millennials and other consumers who shop in your stores who define your business. Those who show up at community zoning hearings — and who are likely not your customers — also play a critical role, for good or bad, in your ability to grow your business.
Unfortunately, Millennials don’t attend zoning hearings, but local residents over age 50 do, and their mindset is much different. They remember a time when convenience stores weren’t destinations for food, and because they are of a demographic less likely to shop in c-stores, they’ve kept that biased image over time. On top of it all, they are passionate about protecting the community and often have the time to attend zoning hearings and oppose ideas that they think will negatively change their ideal.
These kinds of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) concerns raised in zoning approval hearings have made the approval process increasingly complex and difficult to navigate for retailers looking to remodel existing locations or build new stores. In many areas, NIMBY concerns — opposition by residents to a proposed new development because it is close to them, who often believe that the developments are needed but should be further away — are a big part of the site approval process. In April, NACS published its latest resource to help convenience retailers better understand this planning process and how to address community concerns: the “Convenience Store Site Approval Toolkit.”
Designed to align mindsets by giving retailers insights into how the zoning approval process works, the toolkit also looks at how communities guide their physical growth and development through local planning. While each approval process is admittedly unique, the toolkit will help retailers navigate the process in a more streamlined manner.
It is one of many resources available online as part of our refresh initiative at nacsonline.com/refresh. These tools are designed to provide valuable insights about the contributions that convenience stores are delivering to the communities they serve. After all, plenty of people still have less-than-flattering perceptions about our industry.
Case in point: That positive USA Today headline on Millennials craving convenience stores had some snarky counterpoints. Several media websites ran a different headline about the same research: “Millennials Are Eating Ungodly Amounts of Nacho Cheese and Slurpees.”