Convenience store brand accelerates refresh initiative, finds savings with Phygii

Before Phygii: Scaling ambition, struggling with inefficiency

A major national convenience store brand has set an ambitious revenue growth target without adding new locations. To achieve it, the leadership team wants to improve store traffic and grow customer retention metrics. The store planning and construction teams’ contribution to the growth target is to execute a $1 billion nationwide refresh program to modernize 900 locations in three years. They need to create more inviting store environments, improve brand consistency, and accelerate remodel schedules. 

But scaling these remodels efficiently across so many sites has proved challenging.

The company had been working with a property image capture vendor to take simple measurements. The vendor couldn’t keep up with the pace and delivered fragmented documentation and inconsistent measurements. The vendor also had limited capacity to manage the 100 stores slated for updates in the first wave. Teams were forced into repetitive site visits to reconcile missing or inaccurate data, causing missed deadlines and blown budgets. 

The brand needed a way to centralize information, reduce redundant trips, and bring predictability to its remodel process.

With Phygii: Accurate data, faster execution

The team partnered with Immersion Data Solutions (IDS) and adopted the Phygii solution for the next 200 stores in its Refresh program. IDS coordinates sophisticated data capture and syncs it to the Phygii platform, which compiles it into a Phygital Twins and applies advanced AI analytics. Property teams use Phygii to uncover actionable insights, reduce risk, and optimize both individual sites and overall portfolio performance. Phygital Twins are always actionable and always connected across the enterprise. They merge:

• Physical accuracy: Drone, LiDAR, walkthrough, above-ceiling imaging, and photo capture—inside and out, down to the label on an HVAC unit or the finest floor detail.
• Digital structure: Certified plans in CAD/BIM, with each asset precisely placed and tagged, and every scan connected for portfolio-wide navigation.
• Live intelligence: Not just images or files, but a data-rich context layer—every asset, sign, fixture, and equipment tied to location, manufacturer, condition, and customizable attributes, ready for instant query and action.

With the Phygii solution, teams could view, measure, and coordinate with confidence before ever stepping on site. This high-fidelity digital record eliminated redundant documentation efforts and made planning more precise across architecture, construction, and facilities teams.

Reduced planning time and expense: Planning a store refresh is expensive, especially when you factor in third-party experts charging an hourly rate and the travel and lost work time for multiple visits by internal staff. Conservative estimates put the cost of site evaluations and reports at $34,000 per site for convenience store refresh projects. Across the 200 sites this brand used IDS for, that would have added up to $6.8 million. 

Instead, using Phygii RPO, the team was able to eliminate third-party expert visits and bring their internal visits and reporting down to under $1 million for the 200 sites. We factored in the cost of Phygii and found that the savings are significant: From $6.8 million to plan the refresh of 200 sites without the Phygii Solution down to $3.6 million to plan that same initiative with Phygii. 

Construction planning ahead of schedule: With the Phygii solution, the retailer’s refresh initiative is running 18 months ahead of schedule. This means that the Store Planning and Construction teams can budget accurately and have their sites ready when the contractors are ready, avoiding costly delays. The company reports saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in reduced change orders and eliminated rework.

A single source of truth: Equally important, the shift to a unified digital platform helped prevent surprises during construction—no more discovering hidden infrastructure above ceiling tiles or conflicting floor plans mid-project. Phygii provided a single source of truth that accelerated collaboration and improved confidence across all stakeholders.

Looking ahead: The brand is entering the next phase of the refresh initiative and extending its relationship with IDS across the full 900-store portfolio. Ongoing data capture will enable teams across the business to use the Phygital Twin library and the insights it serves up to manage the portfolio across the retail property lifecycle. 

Those involved in store refresh initiatives will see approximately $14 million in cost savings using Phygii RPO to manage the refresh of the entire property portfolio. 

The role of Phygii in the RPO lifecycle

The Phygii Platform is built around the retail property optimization (RPO) lifecycle model, which helps organizations extract continuous value across four key stages: acquisition, operations, refresh, and divestiture.

In the refresh phase, Phygii drives the greatest impact by ensuring rapid, compliant, and cost-efficient rollouts. Key initiatives include:

• Pre-construction site survey: Evaluates site readiness, existing conditions, and potential constraints.
• Roof inspection & maintenance: Detects leaks and forecasts lifespan to prevent costly surprises.
• Parking lot & pavement assessment: Audits pavement, drainage, and striping for maintenance needs.
• Post-construction site survey: Confirms design fidelity and regulatory compliance.
  
  

The rise of RPO

Just as customer relationship management (CRM) transformed how companies manage customer data, RPO is redefining how retailers manage their physical environments.

For decades, retail property management has been reactive, fragmented, and inefficient. RPO represents the next evolution: a unified, data-driven discipline that helps organizations acquire, operate, refresh, and divest retail properties with precision, agility and insight. 

Immersion Data Solutions is at the center of this transformation with its flagship Phygii RPO Platform, the industry’s most advanced RPO solution.

Key takeaways: Phygii RPO as a refresh multiplier

The convenience store brand’s experience demonstrates how the IDS Phygii RPO Platform transforms refresh programs from reactive to predictive, combining accuracy, scalability, and measurable business outcomes.

By integrating Phygii, the retailer achieved:

• 18 months ahead of schedule on store refreshes
  
• Millions of dollars saved through reduced change orders
• Fewer site visits and greater planning precision
• A proven foundation for scaling to full property portfolio

The Phygii RPO platform empowers organizations to work more efficiently, optimize resources, and accelerate initiatives that improve customer experience metrics and drive revenue.