A Fresh Take on a Commonly Unremarkable Experience

Alltown Fresh has redefined the convenience store into a destination

What comes to mind when you think of a convenience store? Bored employees behind a counter with lottery tickets? Stale aisles of junk food, fountain sodas and food that has been under heat lamps longer than they should be? Getting handed a key chained to a block of wood for a disgusting restroom? When people go into a typical convenience store, they aren’t expecting a noteworthy experience that makes them want to stay a while. They are probably looking to find their favorite packaged food brands and quickly leave.

Alltown Fresh is a new kind of convenience store that is competing based on an authentic experience beyond any expectations. What it has created is a new way of attracting customers. While it is still a place to conveniently get gas and a snack, the experience is the kind of business that a local customer might target as a place to meet a friend for lunch and a person on a road trip seeks out and plans as a next stop.

The typical Allown Fresh is similar sized as other convenience stores with national brand gas pumps, but when you walk inside, it feels like an independently owned local market with unique options to fit a range of needs. When the Alltown Fresh experience is viewed through the 4P Customer Experience™ framework, the experience is a differentiator mostly through the Place and Product.

Place

The Alltown Fresh store has a modern store design with colors, fonts and materials that are on brand with a fresh, local market. The layout is clean, spacious and inviting to meander around the store and examine featured items. Products are in well-staged shelves and wicker baskets. Plants are used as décor and offer subtle signals of freshness. There is both indoor and outdoor café type seating to take a break or share a meal. Importantly, even the restrooms rival many mid-level restaurants with higher grade materials, space and cleanliness (restrooms are a major factor in where drivers stop).

Product

While a customer can still get many of the familiar snack products (brand name chips, candy and beverages), they can also find fresh, artisanal and local alternatives (including many by small businesses). A visitor can have a custom, made-to-order bowl or artisanal sandwich made by a chef with fresh ingredients. The beverage station includes bean-to-cup coffee and options not found in a typical convenience stores like iced lattes, kombucha on tap, or freshly made smoothies. A number of organic, vegan and other dietary-restricted products are available. There are also locally sourced meats and fresh produce (some that are grown by Alltown Fresh).

The experience is noticeably different because of the Place and Product, but it is worth looking at how the other 4Ps of Customer Experience™ are represented. Because most customers will have fairly brief and limited interaction with the People category, it might not obviously stand out how the People experience will also be a bit different at Alltown Fresh. The employees are not doing anything innovative or drastically different. However, it is obvious that their mood and mindset is different because they are in a better environment. The positive surroundings lead employees to be more engaging and eager to help without training or requiring them to do anything different.

The Process is fairly typical of most convenience stores. A customer can identify the area of the store they need quickly and bring it back to the checkout stand. Clear, consistent and clean signs make it clear how to visually navigate the store. There is no innovative mobile app download or other unfamiliar process. In fact, that familiarity makes for a better experience. People can only handle so much change in an experience. If some elements like the Place and Product are very different, the brain needs a break. The familiar process helps make for a smoother experience.

Alltown Fresh is a great example of how creating a different experience leads to a competitive advantage and access to new customers. It offers more alternatives and arguably a better overall experience than stopping for coffee or a snack at a popular coffee chain. Make it a destination on your next visit to the New England area or, if you live there, make a date for a great meal.

Michael Pearce is a managing principal at Hundred Ten, LLC.