A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lottery tickets, over-the-counter drugs, toiletries, newspapers and magazines under one roof.[1][2][3][4]
In some jurisdictions, convenience stores (such as off-licences in the UK) are licensed to sell alcoholic drinks, although many other jurisdictions limit such beverages to those with relatively low alcohol content, like beer and wine. The stores may also offer money order and wire transfer services, along with the use of a fax machine or photocopier for a small per-copy cost. Some also sell tickets or recharge smart cards, e.g. Opus cards in Montreal, Canada, or include a small deli.[5] They differ from general stores and village shops in that they are not in a rural location and are used as a convenient (hence their common name) supplement to larger stores.
A convenience store may be part of a gas/petrol station, so customers can purchase goods while refuelling their vehicle.[2] It may be located alongside a busy road, in an urban area, near a railway or railroad station or other transport hub. In some countries, convenience stores have long shopping hours and some remain open 24 hours.
Convenience stores often charge significantly higher prices than conventional grocery stores or supermarkets, as they buy smaller quantities of inventory at higher per-unit prices from wholesalers. Customers benefit from their longer opening hours, more convenient and greater number of locations and shorter cashier lines.[6]
Terminology
A convenience store may also be called a bodega (New York City), carry out, cold store, corner shop, corner store(many parts of English-speaking Canada and New England), mini-market, mini-mart, party store (Michigan), deli or milk bar (Australia), dairy (New Zealand), superette (France, New Zealand, parts of Canada, and in parts of the US), a späti (from 'spätkauf' (lit. 'buy-late') in Germany, a bakkal in Turkey, a konbini in Japan, based on the English loanword 'convenience', dépanneur or dep (used in Canada, primarily Quebec, in both English and French.[7] It is a loanword from the French 'troubleshooter').[8][9]
Merchandise
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Various types include, for example, liquor stores (off-licences-offices), mini-markets (mini-marts), general stores or party stores. Typically confectionery (sweets, ice cream, soft drinks), lottery tickets, newspapers and magazines are sold, although merchandise varies widely from store to store. Unless the outlet is a liquor store, the range of alcoholic beverages is likely to be limited (i.e. beer and wine) or non-existent. Most stores sell cigarettes and other tobacco products (e.g. cigarette papers, pipe tobacco, cigars and e-liquid for e-cigarettes). In many North American jurisdictions, tobacco products comprise the greatest portion of gross sales at convenience stores, between 25%[10] and 35%.[11]
Varying degrees of food and grocery supplies are usually available, from household products to prepackaged foods like sandwiches and frozen burritos. Automobile-related items—such as motor oil, maps and car kits—may be sold. Often toiletries and other hygiene products are stocked, as well as sanitary products and contraception. Stores may carry apparel, home furnishings, CDs, and DVDs. Some stores offer money orders and wire transfer services. They may carry small appliances, as well as other household items such as coolers and backpacks. Convenience stores have also been known to carry candles, stationery, artwork, and crockery.
Many convenience shops offer ready-to-eat food, such as breakfast sandwiches and fry-ups. Throughout Europe, it is now common for convenience stores to sell fresh French bread (or similar). A process of freezing parbaked bread allows easy shipment (often from France) and baking in-store. Some shops have a delicatessen counter, offering custom-made sandwiches and baguettes. Others have racks offering fresh delivered or baked doughnuts from local doughnut shops. Some shops have a self-service microwave oven for heating purchased food.
Fast food items are often available, with stores offering such food either under its owner banner or in partnership with a fast-food chain maintaining a counter in the store. To save space, food is not prepared in the store. Instead, these counters offer a limited menu of items delivered several times a day from a local branch of the restaurant, with items intended to be served hot either kept hot under a warming device or reheated as ordered.
Convenience stores may be combined with other services, such as general stores and pawn shops, a ticket counter for purchasing railway tickets, a post office counter, or gasoline pumps. In Asian countries like Japan or Taiwan, convenience stores are more common because of the higher population density. They are found with gasoline and train stations, but also can be stand-alone stores. Items such as soft drinks or snacks, hot dogs, sausages and fish cakes can be found in these stores. Delicatessens are absent; instead, pre-made sandwiches are available. Non-consumables such as magazines are also sold, but to a lesser degree. Many convenience stores have a beverage fountain that offers coffee, soft drinks, and frozen beverages.
Stores often stock fast-moving consumer goods; items with a high turnover are preferred over items with a lower sales rate. The smaller convenience stores typically have few perishable items because it is not economically viable to rotate perishables frequently with a low number of staff. Smaller convenience stores also do not generate the business needed to sustain food spoilage rates typical of grocery stores or supermarkets. As such, products with a long shelf life are the rule, unless a product is specifically aimed at attracting customers on the chance they may buy something profitable, too.[citation needed]
Differences from supermarkets
Although larger, newer convenience stores may have a wide range of items, the selection is still limited compared to supermarkets, and in many stores only one or two choices are available. Prices in a convenience store are often higher than those at a supermarket, mass merchandise store or auto supply store, as convenience stores order smaller quantities of inventory at higher per-unit prices from wholesalers. Some convenience stores are similar to corner markets, but often have less variety in food.
Product containers in a convenience store are often smaller with reduced product quantity to allow more products on the store shelves. This reduces the apparent cost differences between full-size packaging in supermarkets. Reduced packaging also reduces waste when a traveller such as a hotel guest does not want to or cannot carry leftover product with them when they depart.
The average U.S. convenience store has a sales area of 2,768 square feet (257.2 m2). New stores average about 2,800 square feet (260 m2) of sales area and about 1,900 square feet (180 m2) of non-sales area—a nod to retailers recognising the importance of creating destinations within the store that require additional space—whether coffee islands, food service areas with seating, or financial services kiosks. Convenience stores have expanded their offerings over the last few years, with stores becoming a part-supermarket, restaurant, gas station and even a bank or drug store.[12]
In the United States, convenience stores are sometimes the only businesses near an interstate highway exit where drivers can buy any kind of food or drink for miles. Most of the profit margin from these stores comes from beer, liquor and cigarettes.[13] Although those three categories themselves usually yield lower margins per item, the sales volume in them generally compensates for it.[citation needed] Profits per item are much higher on deli items (bags of ice, chicken, etc.), but sales are generally lower. In some countries, convenience stores have longer shopping hours, some being open 24 hours.
