Convenience Counts

Proposal to modernize a leading Chinese convenience store chain

Challenge

This project was a collaboration with the head of our Shanghai studio and their marketing team to compete for the prototype redesign of a large convenience store chain—an important typology in Asia—through program and design innovations and a strong use of technology.

Process

Since this was a pursuit, we didn’t yet have the resources or access to do primary user research. Instead, I spent an intense week reading every English language article I could find about the Asian convenience store market. Key themes emerged from this research and were paired with a spatial analysis of the chain’s urban and suburban prototypes to create new programming concepts and customer journey maps highlighting areas of innovation and ways to integrate technology into the different store typologies.

Outcome

The pursuit proposed a 24/7, lifestyle- and F&B-focus grounded by quality product and strong design to increase repeat customers and widen the customer base. Although we didn’t win the project, the process cemented a working relationship between the Shanghai office and the Seattle strategy studio.