There’s a Convenience Store Sector Boom Happening in APAC, and Technology is Driving it

The convenience store sector is enjoying unprecedented growth in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, where the number of stores reached 73,000 last year. So, it’s no coincidence PDI opened a Regional Centre of Excellence in Bangkok earlier this year to support APAC customers and convenience retailers as they scale operations. It’s also part of our bigger plan to create hubs that support our expanding customer base in more than 50 countries.

In Thailand, the convenience retail sector represents a 58.3 percent share of the country’s overall trade. With its tech-savvy consumer market, rich talent base and a government that supports the technology sector through its “Thailand 4.0” initiative, there’s a big opportunity.

APAC’s Convenience Retail Boom

While the convenience store has always been a magnet for busy consumers worldwide, in APAC, the format is booming. The region’s convenience retail industry is expanding by 10 percent year-on-year, according to Nielsen, a global data analytics company. The mini-mart format is also very popular in the region, with the total number reaching 50,000 stores, a 4.7 percent annual growth.

Supporting C-Store Operators with Technology

Here’s how best-in-class technology and domain expertise can support the APAC convenience store boom and help operators throughout the fuel supply chain optimize their operations, unify their business and grow topline revenue:

Convenience retailers and petroleum marketers: For this sector, running the back office presents unique challenges that call for unified operations across the value chain. Whether it’s managing petroleum inventory when prices are fluctuating or integrating the accounting process with the point of sale (POS) system, enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions can streamline business processes and provide end-to-end visibility into all aspects of convenience retail and wholesale petroleum operations.

Petroleum marketers and jobbers: These operators are looking to optimize productivity and increase visibility and control from the rack to the pump. Most of their challenges involve logistics. How can you streamline the fleet dispatch process and also ensure driver safety and security of company assets? Finding a solution that can increase efficiency by automating the complexities of fleet management, boost productivity and maximize profits is critical to their success.

B2B wholesalers and fuel retailers: Fuel retailers and petroleum wholesalers are increasingly challenged to intelligently navigate the complexities of fuel pricing, particularly to the APAC region where a rising consumer class means more vehicles on the roads. When you add fluctuating oil production to the equation, the need for effective, data-driven pricing strategies becomes apparent.  Smart fuel pricing software that considers multiple data sources—including market costs, competitor prices, and historic sales, to name a few—gives fuel retailers and petroleum wholesalers a competitive edge to arrive at a profitable destination.

A strong economic outlook combined with high consumer optimism makes for an exciting time in APAC. With the right technology partner by their side, local convenience retailers, petroleum wholesalers and carriers can position themselves to grow and thrive in a global, digital economy.

The APAC Guide to Digital Transformation Digital transformation isn’t coming – it’s here.

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