The need for convenience is changing where and what consumers eat

Retail

In an environment where denser urbanization, fast-paced lifestyles, and challenging working hours are adding more complexity to consumers’ lives, consumption of food and beverage is rapidly changing. The latest Shopper Trends report finds that Filipino consumers turn to convenient food channels such as convenience stores to eat or buy ready-to-consume food and drinks.

In fact, Filipino consumers reveal that among their primary reasons for visiting convenience stores is to satisfy hunger or food cravings.

The prevalence of convenience stores makes it one of the most convenient retail channels for purchasing ready-to-eat (RTE) meals. Today, there are close to 4,500 convenience stores nationwide, with increasing expansion in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

When it comes to the time of purchase, the report uncovered that the purchase of ready to consume food and drinks during the day picks up during early afternoon (1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m.) and peaks during the late afternoon (4:01 p.m. to 6 p.m.). These are the hours when consumers take their afternoon snacks or when they buy RTE food items to consume while in transit or to bring home after getting off from school or work.

The report further finds that bread and sandwiches such as hotdog sandwiches, siopao and tunapao, rice meals (i.e., silog rice meals), salty snacks or chips, bottled water, and carbonated soft drinks are popular among patrons of convenience stores.

On the other hand, there are food and drinks that are increasing in popularity among convenience store customers. Among these are fried chicken, energy/sports drinks, chocolate powder mixes, 3-in-1 coffee mixes, and ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages such as milk or soymilk, and tea.

Favorites such as soft-served ice cream, salty snacks or chips, and bottled water are showing increasing appeal to convenience store shoppers year-on-year.

The demand for convenient options is just picking up steam. The need for convenience store retailers and manufacturers to offer more customized solutions that can go beyond product offerings by providing an overall convenience experience is more critical than ever. Innovations in packaging, preparation, portability, ordering, payment, and application technologies are some factors to consider in providing an overall convenience experience.