How C-Stores Can Use Item-Level Inventory To Create The Right Product Mix

To produce the greatest return, the inventory carried by a c-store should meet its customers’ tastes, needs and expectations.

As Hershey’s data illustrates, to carry the right product mix, c-store managers should consider regional, local and hyperlocal trends and demographics.

After all, it boils down to the transient nature of the store’s customer base as well as each customer’s taste, influenced by the season, culture, location, age and income, as well as life changes and events. To track the demand for c-store inventory and remain competitive, retailers must keep a close eye on their inventory to create that perfect c-store product mix.

With the thousands of UPCs carried by a c-store, cloud-based technology, such as inventory and price book management software, is an effective way of tracking current item-level inventory sales and trends. In addition to tracking and reacting to shifts in product demand at a c-store, cloud-based back-office technology solutions, such as C-Store Office, can suggest orders based on current item-level inventory trends, not trends that occurred 30 or 100 days ago.

If a c-store operation is geographically dispersed, the c-store chain can use a cloud-based back-office solution to centralize its data, invoices and paperwork, managing its inventory within this virtual workspace. The c-store owner can use this centralized data to discover and transfer slow-moving inventory items to stores where the items are more popular. See the below video for an example of how c-store owners use C-Store Office to discover items that are performing poorly and move those items to stores where they sell.