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erages and their subcategories, too." McCall encourages operators to look at the types of beverages offered and the pricing structure of the items. Micro market items should be priced between vending and c-stores. Next he looks at the promotional strategies the c-store is using. "We want to know what kind of discount they are offering and if we are pro- viding a similar deal," he said. "2-for" offers don't work in micro markets, Five Star discovered, but its invalu- able to know what the competition is offering regardless. The company also watches loy- alty programs in c-stores. "Every c-store has a loyalty program of some type now and if we are going to compete, we have to make sure we are offering a good program, too," McCall commented. Lastly the company looks at mer- chandising in c-stores for comparison to its own micro market merchandis- ing. "We walk the store and we com- pare what we're doing. We also look at counter merchandisers at the point of sale, as well as shipper programs, where manufacturers ship the prod- uct in a stand, making it easy for an operator to set up," said McCall. Kevin Searcy, president of deORO Markets, says that's a great idea for operators. "Micro markets are great for impulse buys, and c-stores have developed that concept very well." He recommends placing shelving around and under the payment kiosk. Searcy points to the wild suc- cess one operator had with impulse merchandising. "I have an operator who had an energy shot product that wasn't selling in his machines, so he decided to place it down the side of the kiosk in his micro markets and he made a large profit that way because people are willing to spend more in micro markets," he said. "The impulse buy made it possible for this operator to sell a product that wasn't moving in vending." According to Kevin Bai- ley, president of Breakroom Pro- visions, c-stores are a treasure trove of information and a place from which operators can get ideas. "Companies such as Wawa, QuikTrip and Sheetz have elevated convenience retailing to an art form," said Bailey. He suggests that opera- tors look to this channel for effective graphics and signage, digital signage, product mix and trends, fixturing, loyalty programs and store layout and flow ideas. One aspect of c-stores that opera- tors should stay away from, however, is copying c-store layout directly. While c-stores have many rows of product in a 'U' or 'L' shape, Searcy believes micro markets do not ben - efit from that structure. "We noticed there was bottle necking in the cor- ner and sales decreased in those areas because in a micro market no one wants to stand behind someone look- ing into the corner." He also warns against making a micro market feel like a c-store. "I've gone into micro markets that have felt like gas stations and that's not the feeling you want to convey," he said. "You want to create an atmosphere with tables and chairs — a place to relax." Creating a welcoming atmosphere is key, says Elyssa Allahyar-Steiner, VP of marketing and sales at Avanti Markets. "If we look at cafés, we see people go there to work and set up their computer for the day or a couple hours and why is that?" she asked. "Well, there is free Wi-Fi in most cases, music playing in the background, the atmosphere is calm and it can allow people to focus outside of the four walls that make up their office." Rather than looking to c-stores for atmosphere, operators should be looking at cafés and res- taurants for better understanding the "experience" that consumers are looking for, including lounge areas, coffee tables and décor. "Not everything in c-stores will be relevant to micro markets, but some stuff is, so absolutely operators should look at that channel," said McCall. Think outside the box Outside of directly visiting c-stores, McCall notes that Five Star looks at c-store data from marketing research firm IRI. The firm publishes rankings of the top-selling items in c-stores by category, which helps Five Star know what their competition is selling and introduces them to new items. The data is manufacturer-pro- vided, specifically tailored to the region in which Five Star operates. This helps the company narrow down flavors and snack types that are popu- lar in their area, as opposed to items that are trending elsewhere. "Though it comes out monthly, we look at this data quarterly to make sure we are in line with our competition," he said. "It's something we can get directly from our manufacturers for no cost. In between, we look at our own data to see what's selling and what's not." The company also follows c-store daily and weekly newsletters. McCall recommends subscribing to several c-store trade magazines, too. '' We want to know what kind of discount they are offering and if we are providing a similar deal. '' Greg McCall, vice president of Five Star Food Service Pric in g 26 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com October/November 2016 M I C R O M A R K E T S