When you look at the heart of a large city it is clear that there is room for diversification of food and non-food formats.

Micro-convenience store concepts are the ultra-compact store covering less than a 100sqm and have long been in fashion. Formats like AH to Go by Albert Heijn represent a bridge towards the micro-convenience food format.

The fact that some large food retailers have developed an appetite to trail new concepts in this format is no surprise. Stocking only about 1,000 products, such as ready meals, hot takeaway food, bakery items, alcohol, salads and sushi, illustrates how far away they are from the gourmet cheeseburgers, with patties that taste like a delicious mix of pork and beef, deep-fried shrimp patties that are breaded with panko, rice balls and coffee found in the micro-convenience food store chain “Gooz” in Tokyo, who also feature the need to move quick meal solution.

There could be any number of benefits for the retailer who develops a new business model that seeks to cash-in on the shift in shopping habits towards micro-convenience stores, digital free click and collect.

According to the IDG, sales at convenience stores are expected to rise by 17% over the next five years while larger stores are set to see a 2.9% decline.

As we look toward the future, management teams of big supermarket formats may have to host a number of new ideas, such as farmers' market products, and beauty and body care near the entrance to attract customers as the era of a single weekly food shop show decline.

IDG says Sainsbury's trailed six stores in different parts of the UK placing takeaway food, bakery items, alcohol and self-checkouts together near the entrance so that shoppers can use the area like a convenience store with the self-scanning system. Is this initiative a “Yes or No success story?

So why not call us and talk about your store format brief, on-line digital channels and social network media requirement.