Tobaccoland and Own.Solutions partner to enable the digital commerce revolution at convenience stores.
Digital commerce means challenges for convenience stores
Tobaccoland is a leading supplier in services and logistics for more than 5300 stores, kiosks tobaccoshops in Austria. The company prides itself on recognizing trends and helping to shape them: in the interests of tobacconists, in the interests of manufacturers and the interests of consumers.
With the development of digital commerce, convenience stores are facing new challenges. Customers are looking for new types of products and services which were typically not sold at convenience stores, and the products which were very popular a few years ago, such as mobile top-ups, are not as successful as they used to be.
At the same time, convenience stores in Austria are smaller businesses that are keen to improve in-store customer experience supported by modern processes, but access to the right technology is often made for larger stores networks.
Digital commerce also means new opportunities
Although there is a significant acceleration of the shift from in-store shopping to digital shopping, many customers still prefer to buy in the safe environment of a store with the payment methods they are familiar with, including cash. The opportunity for online businesses or other businesses with no physical stores to reach customers in a shop at the corner of their street or when they are commuting means access to a powerful new sales channel. Austria has millions of customers visiting a convenience store on a weekly basis.
Working in close cooperation with Oliver Strobl - Sales, Distribution & E-Business Director at Tobaccoland - and his team, we have made it possible for businesses with no physical stores to sell their products and services at convenience stores. Our strategies lead to a “win, win, win” situation where online merchants, convenience stores, and both our companies are contributing to each other’s business growth. Own.Solutions have been instrumental in that process, approaching innovative online businesses as well as a new generation of on-demand, mobility, health or energy service companies such as Flixbus, Chimpy and many more.
