Despite the global recession, convenience stores have thrived thanks to their ability to provide fast service, quality products and great value in strategic locations. As service and location remain the industry’s primary competitive advantage over supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers, many of whom are moving into the fuel and fresh food business, convenience stores…
Safeway Starbucks To Offer Mobile Payments
Upcoming mobile payment rollout scheduled to take place at Safeway’s nearly 1,000 Starbucks locations. Safeway Inc., one of the nation’s largest supermarket chains, plans to roll out mobile payment in July at nearly 1,000 Starbucks in Safeway supermarkets across the U.S., including the company’s Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb and Genuardi’s stores. In addition,…
McDonald’s Coffee Customers Most Loyal
In a study comparing McDonald’s, Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts customers, McDonald’s coffee customers are the least likely to stray. McDonald’s coffee customers are the most loyal compared to those who frequent Starbucks Corp. and Dunkin’ Donuts, a study by market research firm CustomersDNA LLC found. The currently unpublished study involved 15,000 fast-food customers who answered…
Coffee Sales Hotter Than Ever
Hot dispensed beverages, most notably coffee, remain a lynchpin of the convenience store foodservice business and a key to its continued growth. Growing sales will be a crucial task in the months and years ahead. Chicago-based research firm Mintel International reported that c-stores and other retail coffee marketers must begin to actively recruit younger drinkers…
Starbucks Partners With Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Starbucks to be the exclusive licensed super-premium coffee brand produced by GMCR for the Keurig Single-Cup Brewing System. Starbucks Corp. and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., which provides specialty coffee and single-serve brewing systems, have embarked on a strategic relationship for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of Starbucks and Tazo tea branded K-Cup portion…
Brewing a Coffee Strategy
Competition is percolating for gourmet sales, forcing c-store owners to elevate their offerings. By John Lofstock, Associate Editor. When people get more, they expect more—and that, as much as anything, helps to explain the challenge facing convenience store operators who emphasize coffee. Coffee quality at the retail level has improved to a point where what…
Starbucks Turns 40
New Starbucks Petites, a line of eight sweets is rolling out at stores now. Starbucks is celebrating its 40th birthday this month, having opened its first store in Seattle on March 30, 1971. The world’s largest coffee chain with 17,000 locations in 55 countries drew in close to $11 billion last year, just posted its…
Starbucks Debuts Mobile Payments
The Starbucks Card Mobile App now offers customers with BlackBerry smartphones, iPhone and iPod touch the fastest way to pay at nearly 6,800 U.S. company-operated Starbucks stores. Starbucks has announced the launch of mobile payments in all of its U.S. company-operated stores, allowing customers to pay for in-store purchases with select smartphones. Building on the…
Starbucks To Launch 31-Ounce Drinks
Seattle-based Starbucks is rolling out a new drink size called Trenta—the chain’s biggest drink size yet, Reuters reported. At 31 ounces, the Trenta is just seven ounces larger than its Venti cups, which currently are the largest size on the Starbucks menu. The Trenta size is debuting in 14 states, including Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Texas,…
Defend Your Hot Beverage Business
Tips for protecting sales and profits in today’s climate. Intensifying competition for the morning daypart and escalating commodity costs for coffee drinks have forced convenience retailers to make trade-offs between pricing and profits. This is no small issue as hot dispensed beverages are strategically vital to a retailer’s morning business segment and fresh foods program.…