Narvesen Norway Next To Innovate
One of our favourite convenience store chains must be the Reitan Convenience, a retail group operating numerous respected brands and store formats that lead the market in every one of the seven countries they operate in.
In Norway, Narvesen is their convenience brand that includes over 440 kiosks and 2,500 employees, with each store enjoying over 200,000 customer visits per day. This means that on average, every Norwegian visits Narvesen approx 16 times during the year. They clearly know how to keep their customers happy!
Their vision is to be “recognized as the most value-driven company” and this powerful approach has helped Reitan Group to achieve turnover of 105.6 billion NOK in 2020 (approx $12 billion), led by its core beliefs including focusing on both commerce and common sense.
And it’s these values that ensure that great ideas within the group are shared and “copied with pride”, with Narvesen Norway noticing the clever idea that is proving so successful for their colleagues in Sweden, who launched a coupon shop to enable them to sell everyday convenience store products – but for the first time at scale!
The concept is simple – many companies need access to everyday products like coffee or ice-cream, to share as treats or rewards with their staff, or members of their loyalty programme.
This article explains the concept which has successfully created this entirely new B2B revenue channel in both Sweden and Norway and why it might be of interest to other convenience retailers looking for new ways to grow.
The Narvesen team loves to share ideas like the Coupon Shop from its colleagues in Sweden
How Does the Coupon Shop Work?
We shared the details of the first coupon shop in the Reitan Group in our article entitled “Surprise and Delight at Scale” which explains not only HOW it works and WHY it works, but also the customer journey, based firmly on the principles of simplicity we mentioned earlier.
These beautiful images below illustrate the broad range of rewards that Narvesen are offering to their B2B customers – eight different options that include their own-branded products such as coffee and croissant or branded products such as Cornetto and Coca Cola.
The “per-treat” price range from 15 NOK (approx $1.72) to 30 NOK (approx $3.44) and buyers can order coupon codes for anywhere between three and five hundred coupons at a time!
So What Types of Convenience Stores Is a Coupon Shop Useful For?
Here is our checklist for consideration:
- Convenience retailers who are interested in exploring customers who buy in bulk – B2B partners rather than individual B2C consumers.
- Retailers who want to position themselves as innovative.
- Retailers who realise the power of the “first-mover” advantage.
- Any retailer prepared to invest some time in linking this powerful technology platform to their website and then introducing the concept to big companies in two key areas: loyalty programme operators and large employers who want to reward their staff with everyday treats they love – any companies that want easy and impactful ways to drive surprise and delight, build loyalty and prevent churn.
And of course, because the coupons are digital, the users enjoy contactless treats which they claim using their own phone, in their own time, and at their own local store!
We wish Narvesen every success with their coupon store in Norway, and no doubt once this proves as successful as Pressbyran in Sweden has enjoyed, we look forward to further expansion across other countries that Reitan Convenience operates in.
