Convenience Store Software Market

Market Overview

The global convenience store software market size was valued at USD 1501 million in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 1917 million by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 6.91%.

Convenience store software helps business owners manage store operations with features such as payment processing, inventory management, and reporting. Convenience store software allows processing payments through any method, including credit, EBT, and gift cards. Furthermore, convenience store software offers a wide range of benefits that include the reduction in overheads, an increase in margins, streamlining inventory management, and efficient point-of-sale operations.

The surge in the adoption rate of software to handle the stores and rising number of activities related to convenience stores such as inventory management and transaction processes are the factors bolstering the market growth.

Market Dynamics

The Surge in the Adoption of Software to Handle the Stores

In light of the e-commerce industry’s unprecedented growth globally, retail stores are working twice as hard to attract customer attention. Retail stores are significantly adopting new technologies to enhance the customer experience, including Augmented Reality (AR), IoT, and incorporating innovative payment systems. Furthermore, many retailers are utilizing data analytics software to manage their stores more effectively and provide an effortless and personalized shopping experience to their customers, even in real-time. In 2018, Amazon launched Amazon Go convenience stores that allow customers to simply enter the shop, pick-up desired items, and leave without queuing or checking out since the payment is automatically made via the Amazon Go app.

An Array of Benefits Offered by the On-Premise Segment

By deployment, the on-premise segment holds the highest share than the cloud segment, owing to the fierce competition among the e-commerce industries and the broad offerings of convenience stores software. According to industry experts, 66% of retail shops preferred on-premise software as cloud-based software demands investment in point-of-scale Terminals (POS). Furthermore, on-premise software offers various advantages, including efficiency enhancement, employee management, and scheduling, accounts payable/receivable, point-of-service, customer relationship management, and others. High-security offered by the on-premise segment, on the other hand, is one of the factors that led to growth in the adoption of on-premise software.

In 2017, 7-Eleven, a leading convenience retailer, implemented PDI on-premise convenience software solutions to address the challenges, including inventory management and handling of a high volume of fuel management. In the light of implementation, the company is now able to accommodate multiple accounting entities, handle a high volume of fuel inventories, and accommodate the intercompany accounting needs.

Challenges Faced by SMEs Prompts them to Incorporate Software Solutions  

By organization size, the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the fastest-growing segment on account of the presence of a slew of SMEs facing multiple challenges among each other across the globe, and also SMEs are the most affected enterprises due to the increasing competition in the e-commerce industry. This enables SMEs to adopt convenience store software to enhance the in-shopping experience and strengthen its market position in a competitive environment.

In 2018, Kronan, a supermarket chain in Iceland, implemented LS Retail convenience store software to address the challenges that include long queues, inventory management, and others. The implementation allowed the company to increase its lane efficiency, speed up services, incorporate advanced technology such as self-checkouts, store analysis, and others.

Regional Analysis

North America Houses Prominent Market Players

North America holds the highest share in the convenience store software market on account of the presence of several prominent vendors, namely AccuPOS, ADD Systems, among others. Furthermore, the presence of various SMEs across all industry verticals, which are extensively adopting process automation to strengthen their market position. According to industry experts, 99% of the U.S. businesses are small businesses, out of which approximately 30% of SMEs have started adopting automation to enhance operations, speed up services, and others. This enables SMEs to adopt convenience store software to enhance inventory management and consumer experience.

In 2016, Gallo Clothing (U.S.) implemented LS Retail Convenience store software to manage the business and help it to grow. By implementing the convenience store software, the company enhanced its customer experience, improved the decision-making process, increases profit, eliminate manual works, and others.

India and China’s Extensive Adoption of Digital Technologies 

Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing marketplace, owing to the surge in the adoption rate of digital technology among emerging economies such as India and China. For instance, in 2017, Alibaba (China) invested approximately USD 8 billion to acquire the supermarket chain and digitize them, which entails self-checkout services, tracking and scheduling, facial recognition, RFID tags, and others. Furthermore, by witnessing opportunities in brick and mortar retail shops in emerging economies, tech giants began to enter the market. For instance, in 2019, 7-Eleven, a leading supermarket chain, partnered with SHME food to bring globally trusted convenience stores to India and build new pathways together that will offer Indian customers greater convenience and choices.

Segmental Analysis

Market Opportunity

Digital transformation and technology investments are changing the way many industries are conducting business, and convenience stores are no different. As the industry experiences shifts and competition increases, technology plays a crucial role in the growth of convenience stores market. According to industry experts, in 2018, 93.5% of convenience stores invested in automation. Automation takes on many forms, including automated data collection, RFID, inventory, transaction tracking, and analytics. By automating, the data can be brought together at the tap of a mobile computer or tablet screen; stores can easily manage inventory, keep the right products in stock.

Impact of covid-19

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak reflected adverse effects worldwide, both on SMEs and large enterprises across all industry verticals. As several governments have imposed regulations to shut down business operations temporarily to control the virus’s influence, economic growth of SMEs, and large enterprises across all industry vertical declined. However, the growth of convenience store software has slightly declined on account of the halt in business operations, including technical support, implementation services, and other support.

Moreover, the convenience store software allowed supermarket chains and other small retail shops to increase lane efficiency and speed up services and self-checkouts amid the coronavirus outbreak, as people rushed to grocery stores to stock up the essential product available.

In 2020, Bigbasket, a leading online retail shop, and UBER partnered to facilitate the delivery of essential supplies to consumers amid coronavirus pandemic. In the light of partnership, Bigbasket’s convenience store software enables the company to manage inventory and track,  schedule, speed up services.