Walmart has opened its first convenience store / petrol (gas) station in the US – as reported by Liberty Voice.
This move by Walmart is not new from an Australian context with the moves here already by Coles and Woolworths. What we are seeing in Australia now is further evolution of the petrol and convenience models by the supermarkets.
Newsagents playing in the convenience and agency business space need to watch the supermarket businesses. Coles has lotteries sorted out. I expect they will want to add more agency business, to drive even more traffic. In these P&C outlets they can deliver a more personal experience than in their supermarkets.
Newsagents can’t ignore these developments in Australia and overseas. They/we need to consider them in the context of our own business planning.