Forget everything you've heard about the changing convenience store and how the channel is moving out the corn dogs in favor of California rolls to bring in more upscale consumers, particularly those of the female variety.
Nope, the business is still all about guys 18 - 34 and 7-Eleven thinks it can bring a bunch more into its stores now that it is selling "A list" video game titles in its 5,600+ stores across the U.S.
"Videogames aren't just for kids anymore, and they're not just sold at big box and game stores either," said Michael Jester, 7-Eleven category manager for gaming and electronics, in a press release. "We can compete with the major players and offer consumers a more convenient place to purchase games and accessories. They can pay a deposit and reserve their copies ahead of time and pick them up starting midnight (12 am) on the release date at locations closer to their homes."
The convenience store chain will start out offering seven top titles heading into the holidays (while supplies last) along with prepaid gift cards for Massively Multi-Player Online Games (MMOGs).
Among the titles 7-Eleven will initially make available are:
1. Guitar Hero: World Tour-Band Kit (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 2 and 3, Nintendo Wii)
2. Fallout 3 (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PS3, PC)
3. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (MMOG available on PC only)
4. 007: Quantum of Solace (Xbox 360, PS3 and PS2)
5. Gears of War 2 (exclusive to Xbox 360)
6. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 (Xbox 360, Sony PS3 and PS 2)
7. Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360, PS3)
"This is not just a holiday promotion for us," Mr. Jester said, "but a brand new product line-up that will be available year-round. We may not be a total entertainment destination ... yet, but we're hoping to expand our selection beyond the high-dollar, hot-selling games to include options for all budgets, like value-priced videogames as well as DVD movies. For consumers wanting convenient one-stop shopping for at-home entertainment along with groceries and gas or who just want to avoid big-store shopping inconveniences, their local 7-Eleven store is open and ready."
Discussion Questions: What do you think of 7-Eleven's move into videogame sales? Are convenience outlets a logical point of sale for videogames and will stores in the channel be able to compete against the likes of competitors ranging from GameStop on one end and Walmart on the other?