Convenience stores hop on “curbside pickup” bandwagon

Question: How do you make a convenience store even more convenient? After all, most of them are already open long hours, located centrally, and built alongside filling stations or other shops. Answer: Offer curbside pickup. 

Yes, the same phenomenon that swept the retail and e-commerce sectors during the Covid lockdowns is now coming to your local corner store.

The concept is currently being tested by Swipeby, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based firm that says its technology platform can bring e-commerce and “off-premise solutions”—such as curbside pickup, in-store pickup, and delivery—to restaurants and other businesses with physical storefronts. The company started deploying its platform in April at five Quality Mart locations in Winston-Salem, with plans to roll out the technology at other “c-store” chains in New England and the West Coast over the next few months.

Swipeby says its software can help small- to medium-sized businesses compete with food-oriented drive-throughs by providing a “geofenced virtual drive-through solution.” According to the firm, this is the first time this type of retail technology has been deployed with larger convenience store chains, signaling opportunities in more retail sectors as demand for easier ordering and pickup options grows.