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7-Eleven tests app-based deliveries in Dallas

Your convenience store could be more... convenient.

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Convenience stores earned their name by stocking food and everyday items in a shop you could easily reach. But what if your local store isn't all that close, or it doesn't carry what you're looking for? If everything goes according to plan, 7-Eleven might have you covered. It's testing a mobile app, 7-ElevenNow, that lets you order food, drinks and other products for delivery or in-store pickup. You won't have to brave the rain just to score a pack of your favorite soft drinks -- instead, a courier can bring them to you. The trial is active in 10 Dallas-area stores.

How quickly 7-ElevenNow expands will likely depend on the success of the Dallas trial, but it should reach other American locations in 2018.

The company is no stranger to dipping its toe in the delivery waters -- it has even made drone deliveries. It sees features like mobile ordering as a way to expand the reach of its stores beyond their immediate neighborhoods, reducing the need for extra stores and making better use of locations that don't get much foot traffic. You probably won't use the mobile app often (it's a bit ridiculous to pay a delivery fee for some milk and potato chips), but that's not the point. This is more to cover those times when you'd be tempted to visit another store.