In the US, saving time and increasing efficiency drive AI use cases for convenience stores. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arrived, but with all the questions about what AI can do – and what it can’t – convenience retailers need to get up to speed on how to implement the rapidly growing technology.
Operators in the US are finding practical ways to apply AI to make operations more efficient, reduce labour and future-proof their business, and their best practices and lessons learned are applicable for retailers across the globe and in the Asian retail market.
Ways retailers are already using AI include leveraging voice analytics and camera analysis to capture never-before-tracked metrics, tracking for inventory management and pricing, and saving time on administrative tasks. Many are also using it to simplify and speed up the hiring process in a challenging labour market where finding employees is a top-of-mind concern for most retailers.
“We’re seeing AI-powered inventory management solutions that provide real-time insights into stock levels, product placement and inventory trends, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing waste,” said Sanjeev Satturu, chief information officer for Casey’s General Stores, an Iowa-based retailer with 2600 stores across 17 states.
He also noted a lot of opportunities to leverage AI for fuel pricing. Of the US’s more than 150,000 convenience stores, almost 120,000 sell fuel.
“And AI video analytics can enhance security by analysing video feeds to detect unusual behaviour, unauthorized access or potential theft incidents,” he added.
Video analytics analysed with AI have myriad benefits. Some retailers are using camera analysis in food preparation areas, roller grills and hot boxes to track how much food is present, how long food has been out and if there is theft or food waste. AI can then alert staff to add more items or turnover food products after a certain time.
On the forecourt, AI vehicle tracking at the fuel dispenser can provide data about the number of cars that came through, time spent at the pump and active time the fuel dispenser was in use. That data can be leveraged for things like fraud detection and strategies to increase customer conversion rates into the store.
“Say you have 1000 vehicles one day and observe 300 people walking inside – you know you have a 30 per cent conversion rate. You could increase that by doing A/B testing, where you put two different types of promos on the pump and watch to see which one gets more people into the store,” said Robert Hampton, VP of technology services and innovation at Jacksons Food Stores, which has 300 locations in seven states.
Retailers are also using AI to streamline the hiring process. In the US, 7-Eleven Inc screens the 110,000 job applications it gets yearly in North America using an AI recruiter. The technology handles 95 per cent of the front-end work, said Rachel Allen, senior director of talent acquisition at 7-Eleven.
“[It] is communicating with the candidates all the way up until they come in for an interview at our stores,” said Allen.
With AI, Allen said 7-Eleven’s average hiring process time went from more than 10 days to less than three. “We’ve saved our store leaders over 40,000 hours a week in time – and of course, those hours also turn into dollars.”
Those saved hours also translate into better customer service. Perhaps one of the most underrated elements of AI is the ability to save someone even just 15-20 minutes per day on menial tasks, said Jerome Rose, GM of US retail and consumer goods at Microsoft.
“Think about what that gain looks like across your whole employee base. People can then put time and energy into the things they want – in this case, spending time with customers,” said Rose.
Implementing AI in Asia’s convenience stores will be a key topic of focus at NACS Convenience Summit Asia, taking place from February 25-27 in Tokyo, Japan. Retailers will gain insights into leveraging AI in education sessions such as “AI: Full-blown Implementation in Our Industry,” hear from industry thought leaders on the topic and learn from peers how they’re using the latest technology to grow their business.
