Tag: Convenience store

Manila, Philippines — Filipinos are notorious for one quirk; they are on time on their own time. The Filipino behaviour of being late is so famous that the term ‘Filipino Time’ has been coined to call the phenomenon. Due to this, 7-Eleven, the popular convenience store, has collaborated with advertising agency MullenLowe Treyna to highlight this lowlight in their stores.

7-Eleven’s latest campaign entitled ‘7-Eleven Minutes Late’ is a playful rejoinder to the concept of ‘Filipino Time,’ a cultural phenomenon of always arriving past the agreed meeting time. The series from MullenLowe Treyna features popular excuses—from traffic jams to train delays—often texted by those who are running late, yet still have the audacity to stop for an iced coffee anyway.

Placement is the series’ biggest irony. They are displayed in 7-Eleven—the country’s largest convenience store chain, and a favourite stopover for those who are running late for work.

One image shows, “MRT Na! Huhu,” from a texter presumably on the train. Another reads, “Huhu. EDSA Na!” from a texter stuck in traffic on EDSA. EDSA is the main thoroughfare, notorious for heavy traffic. The next one, “Lapit na” implies that they are close to the office, but could conceivably be anywhere, even getting a soda and a doughnut in 7-Eleven.

Whatever the excuse may be, 7-Eleven has enough of them hanging around their stores for Pinoys to pick from or for workmates to poke fun at when they see it.

Singapore – With the meteoric rise in technology, it isn’t new anymore to hear of innovations from time to time – from robots to never-thought-of digital services, from the next rocking software to just about any tech that aims to automate and digitize every point of human activity. 

In the often dubbed ‘technological hub’ Singapore, homegrown supermarket operator NTUC Fairprice has launched a new branch under its cashless and zero-staff format for food mart brand Cheers, which is turning the ‘convenience’ business on its head. 

In the new Cheers store, a sign is displayed reading “no queues. no checkout. just walk out.”

The new branch is the fourth Cheers store to be opened of the type, where the first one was launched in 2017 at Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore.

Having partnered with Visa, customers going to the store only need to pick out the items they wish to purchase and are good to go. Cheers uses an advanced A.I. system that is smart enough to detect the items that have been grabbed by customers, where payment will automatically be processed upon their exit. 

Cheers is a 24-hour convenience store with over 160 branches in Singapore. The new location is built in the integrated lifestyle hub Our Tampines Hub. Following the pilot cashless and unmanned branch at Nanyang Polytechnic, the two other tech-driven stores were put up at National University of Singapore.

NTUC FairPrice continues to embrace innovation and develop new service concepts to enhance the shopping experience for customers. We complement the efforts at promoting a self-service culture in Singapore through our unmanned store concepts along other initiatives that facilitate efficient service delivery. By collaborating with our strategic partner Visa, we are able to leverage on our respective strengths and experience to further propel the retail industry forward.

Seah Kian Peng, Group CEO, FairPrice Group

According to a Facebook post by NTUC FairPrice, to enter the store, customers need to download the Cheers SG mobile app, and add their Visa card details as their payment mode. At the gantry after the entrance, customers need to scan the on-screen unique QR code or they can use facial recognition which customers can register in the app. Purchases are automatically added to the virtual shopping cart, and charged to the Visa card upon exit.

This is the first time that Visa is partnering with our retail merchant partner to create this concept of kind in Southeast Asia, and we want to help our merchants power the future of retail and create innovative retail experiences so that consumers and businesses can pay and be paid effortlessly.

Kunal Chatterjee, Visa Country Manager, Singapore and Brunei

In 2014, Singapore announced its national Smart Nation initiative which aims to harness technological advancements to build Singapore’s status as an outstanding place of living. NTUC FairPrice said its efforts are in support of the said direction. 

Hong Kong – 7-Eleven, in its effort to keep pace with consumer demand for healthier food choices, has added two vegan-friendly meals from flash-frozen foods brand OmniEat to its range of meal solutions. 

In Hong Kong, much like globally, vegan and vegetarian options are growing in popularity in restaurants and are gradually becoming part of people’s lifestyles. However, according to the convenience store chain, such food options are still not very convenient to find, much less, selections that are available around the clock.

The two new additions are the Spicy Thai Basil OmniPork with Jasmine Rice and Thai OmniPork Stir-Fried Noodles. Both dishes are made using OmniPork, a plant-based “pork,” which is much lower in saturated fat and calories than real pork, offering higher levels of fibre, calcium and iron.

The Spicy Thai Basil OmniPork with Jasmine Rice is a combination of high-protein Omnipork and half a cup of mineral-rich vegetables, including basil and asparagus beans, while the Thai OmniPork Stir-Fried Noodles comprises aromatic noodles and a generous helping of Gai Lan, which is rich in iron and calcium.

According to 7-Eleven, the meals contain no cholesterol, are free from antibiotics and hormones, are cruelty-free, and are without preservatives and MSG.

The meals are now available at a special limited offer price of HK$30 per pack.