Within 10 years, nearly 3,000 drive-throughs in France

The number of drive-throughs in France is growing every month. In March 2014, 'only' 31 drive-throughs were opened in France. In February, there were 62 and in January 55. Intermarché, Leclerc and Carrefour are the main promoters this month with 17, 12 and 12 openings respectively. Compared to March 2013, that’s an increase from 2,215 to 2,869 drives, almost 30%. The largest retailer with nearly 800 drive-throughs is Intermarket, followed by CoursesU.com with 596 drives, Leclerc with 479 drives and Carrefour with 377 drives. The market share of the drives in France is estimated at 3.9%.

Started in 1996
Olivier Dauvers is a famous French editor, and he has been monitoring mass distribution since 1990. He writes for such magazines as 'Lineares' and Rayon Boissons. He says that the trend started back in 1996. "Auchan in Luxembourg had its alcoholic beverages put in the parking lot, allowing the consumer to drive through and have the bottles loaded into his car. The CEO of Auchan in France liked the idea. In 2000, he opened a similar concept in France. Ordering, though, was still done on the spot and not over the internet. People had to wait while the staff collected the order."

Fresh produce in drive-throughs
Also in fruit and veg, Coradrive.fr. is the largest. They have 192 references customers can choose from. Then comes Auchan with 177 references and chronodrive with 163 references. Freddy Dutoit, CEO of VLAM France says: “There are no real figures available on the market share of fruits and vegetables in the drive-through, but it is estimated to be 2.3%. According to Nielsen, loyal drive buyers would do as much as 78% of their purchases through this channel. We may assume that fresh produce makes up much of the remaining 22% (fish, meat and cheese remain difficult). Potatoes, vegetables and fruits however, would be on the rise. For Picard (frozen food chain), the drive has become the biggest competitor."

"Currently, the Fruit & Vegetable range varies from chain to chain, but is quite stable overall. In the case of 'picking at the store’ (if the drive is located next to a shop), products are simply taken from the range of the store. In the case of a ‘solo drive’ (no shop next to the drive-through), the drive-through has its own stock."

Freshness
From his own experience, Freddy expresses his satisfaction with the freshness of fruit and vegetables in drive-throughs. "I once bought fresh produce at a solo Carrefour and the products were superb: fresh, well chilled and of nice quality. I have yet to meet anyone who complains about the quality of fruit and vegetables at a drive-through, but of course that’s not much of a reference."

Freddy says that the acquisition is currently done by the regular buyers in the exchanges. "They don’t usually know if a product will be sold in a traditional shop or in a drive-through. But it’s clear that the time is ripe to consider selling fresh produce through a drive. A debate that includes topics such as the placement of the offer on the screen, the description of the product and the promotion. Possibly, the stuff will come in boxes or packs, like a BBQ package: meat, brochettes, beverage and vegetables on the screen simultaneously. Why not?"

More information:
VLAM France
Freddy Dutoit
E: fdutoit@delegationflamande.org