STOCKHOLM – Making their first stop in Stockholm, Sweden, for the 2016 NACS Insight Convenience Summit – Europe, industry stakeholders from around the world learned from their Swedish counterparts about their businesses, consumer trends in Swedish retailing, and saw firsthand convenience retailing in action during retail store visits. They also explored Sweden’s evolution to become a cashless society.

Convenience retailing in Sweden has similarities to other countries where prepared foods and coffee are becoming a central focus to the convenience offer. And like many other countries, Sweden’s convenience stores are striving to meet the needs of time-starved consumers who also want a quick and easy location to top-off shop and, when necessary, grab a seat to check email, charge a phone, rest and enjoy a beverage and a bite to eat.

The Swedish convenience channel is also very fragmented because of the competition fighting for consumers on the go—even some hypermarkets have small c-stores at their entrances. The shopping mission has evolved from a place to buy a beverage, tobacco, newspapers and lottery to a destination for food on the go. And for the Swedish consumers, the focus on healthy eating is quite prevalent. Stores such as Reitan Convenience Sweden, operator of 7-Eleven and Pressbyran stores, keep shelves and coolers well-stocked with healthy choices such as protein drinks, yogurt, all-natural juices, nuts and seeds, fresh produce and organic foods.

Ann Selin and Ingegerd Wik of Codeconcept Development, a group that helps retailers design concepts that make retail spaces perform better, discussed findings from a multi-year study on the Swedish consumer, which suggests that the health trend is here to stay. Consumers are more aware of ingredients, such as sugars, fats and additives, and are driving food choices that are organic, natural, locally sourced and free from preservatives.

The “foodvenience” journey, noted Magnus Carlsson, CEO, Reitan Convenience Sweden, is well underway at the company’s 7-Eleven stores, with food offers such as the Pick & Mix where customers can choose two out of eight products at a competitive price. The stores also introduced juicing in May, a mega trend in Sweden popularized by coffee shops and the hipster Joe & Juice concept, which features a wide-ranging menu of fresh-made juice combinations, shakes and coffee (and only young men in their 20s mixing and blending drinks).

Event participants also heard from Tormod Lier, managing director of NorgesGruppen Convenience, which operates nearly 40 Deli de Luca c-stores and delicatessen chains in Norway. Lier recognizes the importance of bringing new shoppers to the convenience channel, and one way to accomplish this goal is by positioning a complete, healthy and clean on-the-go food solution. At Deli de Luca, he noted that the goal is to offer something new for customers and set a new standard for “road food” by revolutionizing the food experience for travelers.

Day two in Sweden wrapped up with a discussion from Niklas Arvidsson, associate professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, on how Sweden is at the tipping point of becoming a cashless society. He shared that Sweden has long been on the forefront of electronic payment systems, beginning with direct deposit of paychecks in the 1960s, a process developed by the banks. And unlike the United States, Swedish consumers place a high level of trust in their country’s banking system and its central bank, Riksbank.

Then in 2012, a new mobile payment app, Swish, was launched in Sweden that provides real-time transactions between consumers that essentially acts like a cash transaction. Although it took a little of time for Swish to catch on, it’s capturing about 114,000 new users per month. As of May 10, the app had gained about 4.3 million users. It works by connecting a users’ phone number to their bank account, and the development of the service was led by the banks and telecom operators.

Swedish consumers do still trust cash, consider access to cash a human right and have an emotional connection to bills and coins. However, consumers aren’t using cash: the value of cash relation to GDP in Sweden is around 2%. There are still critical challenges toward reaching a cashless society, noted Arvidsson, but the movement is well underway.

Today, the Convenience Summit begins the second leg of its journey with three days in London, packed with ideas for foodservice, positioning healthy offers and retailer roundtable discussions as well as a case study by Statoil Fuel & Retail. Be sure to check NACS Daily on Friday, June 10, to find out the winners of the highly coveted International Convenience Retail Awards for technology, sustainability and retailer of the year.