Before 2020, the concept of working from home was reserved for a privileged few. Faced with a worldwide pandemic, employers quickly figured out ways to keep their workforces operating from their homes to protect them from the spread of COVID-19. Many employees experienced how much more could be accomplished without spending time stuck in traffic commuting to and from work. Employers still struggled to keep positions filled during the labor shortage and found that allowing workers more flexibility to work from home increased the pool of interested candidates. As a result, we’re deep into 2022, and work-from-home arrangements are still standard for many employees. C-Store managers must adapt their strategies to optimize 2022 work-from-home trends impacting convenience store shopping.
What are the 2022 work-from-home trends?
What are the 2022 work-from-home trends?Deloitte published a report in 2021 based on a survey conducted in late 2020. Nearly 70% of employers felt confident about their work-from-home practices and their employees’ ability to successfully complete their work remotely. Only 7% of employers at that time planned to discontinue working from home after the pandemic.
This makes sense from a very practical point of view. Once employers invested time and money into purchasing and installing technology in their employees’ homes, why remove it after a few months? Particularly when many employees reported higher job satisfaction without having to drive to work to complete responsibilities they could do at home.
PYMTS is following these trends and looked at how employees worked from home in the summer of 2022. According to their survey results, 54 million people worked remotely every day in July 2022–from home, restaurants, and hotels anywhere they could access the internet. This clearly indicates that work-from-home is a “new normal” convenience stores will need to adapt to.
VideoMining provided some interesting insights about how convenience store shopping has changed simultaneously.
- The average number of weekly in-store buyers dropped 14% in 2021 as compared to 2019.
- The weekly sales per store average is $58,456 (excluding fuel sales): a 4% increase as compared to 2019.
- Increased sales seem to be the result of inflation and larger per-ticket sales.
These results show that shopping patterns have changed substantially as fewer workers travel to jobs, but inflationary conditions may temporarily hide the impact of the changes, particularly when dollar sales are the focus of management.
What should your business do to be successful in the “new normal?”
Now is the time to work with professional consultants to review your business’s goals and strategies to ensure your company is on the right track to optimize 2022 work-from-home trends. GP Energy works with convenience stores across the country to help them achieve their financial goals.
For example, Retail Touchpoints provides some relevant information about the difference between consumers visiting a c-store from home versus from work. They are willing to travel 10.5 miles to a store from a work environment, but those same people only consider c-stores within 7.4 miles from their homes. That means your marketing will need to focus on a smaller circumference of the community around your store.
Some convenience stores have found success partnering with third-party services for at-home delivery services. For example, 7-Eleven customers can order milk, eggs, and other necessities online and have them arrive on their doorstep within as little as 30 minutes. It’s a new kind of convenience for consumers.
Our goal at GP Energy is to make crossing the finish line of goal achievement easily within your reach. We’ll work with you to develop customized strategies to increase sales and profitability. Contact us today to get started!