ATLANTA — This year kicked off with 150,174 convenience stores operating in the United States, a 1.5% increase from a year earlier and reversing a four-year decline, according to the 2023 NACS/NielsenIQ Convenience Industry Store Count report. In-store (non-fuel) sales were $302.8 billion, an increase of 9%. Packaged beverages, other tobacco products, salty snacks, candy and packaged sweet snacks all had double-digit sales growth, with the average basket — what customers spent per visit — up 4.9% to $7.52. Those numbers explain why many food and beverage marketers are focusing innovation on grab-and-go and impulse items for the c-store channel.
Knowing what c-store shoppers are buying, and when and where they are buying the products, are key factors for creating a strategy to target the market, said Kathy Risch, senior vice president of thought leadership and shopper insights for Acosta Group, Jacksonville, Fla. She spoke on the topic of “The State of Snacking in Convenience” at the NACS Show 2023 held Oct. 3-6 in Atlanta.
“C-store snack shoppers are unique in the importance they place on convenience and fun,” she said.
Chris Rapanick, managing director, NACS, Alexandria, Va., said, “The value of convenience continues to grow, and that’s a driving factor why every retailer, regardless of channel, seeks to provide it. It’s clear that the convenience offered at c-stores resonates with consumers.”
Data from Acosta Group’s Convenience Store Shopper Study (July 2023) and Snacking Study (April 2023) shows the most common snack or meal trips to c-stores are in the afternoon. More than half of respondents purchase snacks between lunch and dinner time.
It’s common to make a special trip for a snack, especially for millennials, with more than half (53%) reporting that they visit a c-store when they are feeling “snacky,” said Ms. Risch. Most c-store shoppers consume their snacks on the go.
When it comes to what snacks they are purchasing, preferences are split between taste profiles. When forced to choose, most prefer salty over sweet.
C-stores also have become a destination for hot foods, such as pizza slices, hot dogs and tacos. Nearly half of survey respondents buy hot foods at a c-store at least once a week, and half agree the quality is as good as a fast-food/quick-serve restaurant.
Foodservice sales represent one-fourth of average monthly in-store sales, and more than a third of in-store gross margin. Prepared foods accounted for 67.3% of all foodservice sales in 2022, while commissary contributed 9.5%, followed by hot dispensed beverages at 9.2%, cold dispensed at 8% and frozen dispensed at 6%.
“While it’s usually ‘win the morning, win the day,’ with people late-day snacking, it’s really more ‘win the afternoon, win the day,’” said Lisa Ham, director of merchandising and space planning, Yesway, a c-store chain headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ms. Ham said c-stores need to offer variety, but not too much. And never forget that the fun factor fuels impulse sales.
