LOOP

Designing a new convenience store is a challenge. MSA worked with A.U. Energy to create a growth strategy based on a completely new convenience store design. The concept was based on a deep assessment of customer experience expectations across key growth segments, including women and millennial.

Everyone these days seems to want a piece of the convenience store pie. Big-box retailers are scaling down to small boxes that consumers can navigate more quickly and easily. Drugstores are adding fresh food and beverages to their traditional health and wellness mix. And grocery stores are increasingly offering online ordering with home delivery or at-store pickup.

“Loop is our high-end convenience market,” Goyal of A.U. Energy says. “We are trying to cater to the healthier side of what people want, healthy and fresh. It’s got a lot of the same things that you see in a convenience store—We still sell cigarettes and chips and soda and candy—but we also have a lot of things that you wouldn’t traditionally see—a salad bar, an espresso bar, frozen yogurt, kale chips, edemame.”

LOOP’s six stores are bright and bold, filled with gourmet and upscale products. Shelving has a low profile; coolers are open and easy to access. They’re filled with beverages like coconut water, kombucha and aloe to complement the energy drinks and carbonated soft drinks.

After successfully piloting the new design at an existing convenience store in Silicon Valley, LOOP was launched as a newly branded store. The new store has achieved a 250% improvement in sales growth and is setting a new standard in the industry.

*Photo above is a collage of before images from the store.*