Are Cheers And 7-Eleven Taking On Hawker Outlets?

Singapore’s convenience stores now offer premium meals and are trialling self-service checkouts to cope with the debilitating manpower crunch.

- Kiersnerr Gerwin Tacadena

The two biggest convenience store chains in Singapore recently launched new technologies to compensate for their staffing needs and increase productivity. 7-Eleven Singapore, which has 438 stores island-wide and processes 9m transactions monthly, is in the midst of launching 7-Connect Kiosk, a self-help machine for quicker and more efficient bill payment.

They also employed tap-and-go payment such as PayWave to reduce cash transactions.

Store transformations

Steven Lye, 7-Eleven Singapore chief operating officer, explains why such improvements are being rolled out. He says, “Understaffing is a constant issue within any retail industry. We are in the process of implementing pertinent services such as a self service check out kiosk and bill payment kiosks.”

Lye shares that 7-Eleven is in the process of retrofitting its stores to be more contemporary, and new outlets will include dining areas and parcel collection points. “We have also refreshed our stores with a fresh and brighter look. Some of the larger stores also have seating or standing areas for customers to consume their meals in-store,” Lye says.

Putting seating areas and tables inside convenience stores is popular in countries like the Philippines where more food is served up, but is relatively new to Singapore.

As a result of the new designs, future 7-Eleven stores will need a footprint of at least 800 sq ft. This could mean that smaller hole in the wall convenience stores will be under pressure.

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