Thanks to advances in technology, my field recorder is smaller, so too my camcorder, and even my iPad has shrunk. This makes for easier travelling, yet doesn’t impact on the quality of content that I accumulate along the way.
The organisers of IFE13, on the other hand, have discovered some interesting facts about what constitutes ‘convenience’ for other people, especially when it comes to retail. According to recent research, consumers consider their local stores to be ‘lacking in choice’ (49%), ‘lacking in space’ (25%) and ‘lacking in competitive pricing’ (49%).
These statistics have been revealed ahead of an unveiling at IFE13 of a ‘convenience concept store of the future’ courtesy of six final-year retail marketing management students from Leeds Metropolitan University.
Working with Professor Cathy Barnes, the students from the Faraday Centre of Retail Excellence have developed concepts with consumer needs at the heart of each one. From online click-and-collect schemes to digital reminders, virtual food screens and a 24-hour counter, the concepts have been merged into a modern store design that is hoped will herald a new phase in convenience shopping.
Apparently, I’ll be able to see conceptual examples of how convenience stores could (and probably should) operate in an ever-increasing technological landscape. I’m looking forward to it and will showcase the materials I gather right here on FoodBev.com.
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I wrote a blog not too long ago about how Coca-Cola is embracing technology to stay in touch with its customers. Let’s hope other large companies at all stages of the supply chain think carefully about how best to modernise their operations and make it easier and more enticing for us to do business with them.
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