The National Association of Convenience Stores defines a c-store as: “A retail business that provides the public with a convenient location to quickly purchase a wide variety of consumable products and services, generally food and gasoline.” When asked what types of things consumers think of when they hear the term convenience store, NACS research found that the majority tend to think about things like: snacks, drinks, small-format, extended hours, and quick in and out.

However, there is a growing minority of c-store shoppers nationwide using c-stores as meal destinations, and lines continue to blur between formats, with grocery operators like Walmart increasing investment in its convenience store offering, c-stores like Racetrac acquiring Potbelly, and travel stops like Buc-ee’s doubling as a day trip weekend destination, much like a theme park might.

The convenience store industry as a whole seems to be having difficulty navigating this transitional period. According to Placer.ai geolocation data, compared to other retail formats that offer snacks, drinks, in addition to food and other products, convenience stores in the past 12 months have had slower average monthly foot traffic growth (-1.8%) than almost any other major format, except drugstores (-3.3%). QSRs and larger format superstores have been flat, while grocery and discount/dollar stores have up 1.5% and 3.3% respectively.

Foodservice now represents close to a third of inside sales and about 40% of inside gross margin, making it the single largest driver of growth. Operators are investing heavily in menu quality, speed, and credibility, while mergers, acquisitions, and QSR partnerships are accelerating capabilities.

Meanwhile, other core c-store categories instrumental to profit – snacks/candy, packaged beverages, cigarettes and other tobacco products (OTC),and beer – have all experienced negative unit growth in the past year. What have all of these headwinds added up to? According to a 2024 NACS State of the Industry survey, 70% of c-store chains reported a negative in-store operating profit. Evolving not just beyond the pump but beyond these traditional c-store categories is imperative for sustained growth in a market where competition for c-store visits is increasing.

Convenience retailers who have customer value propositions that are evolving and differentiated in the areas that matter most to driving c-store growth results will stay relevant for years to come. This report identifies those retailers and what c-stores of all types should do to most relevantly improve their customer value proposition.