QSR September 2022

SHORT ORDER

The market share jostle between quick-service restaurants and C-stores is nothing new.

Yet like many arenas in the COVID-19 era, technology has reset the wheel. Namely, can technology bring the segments’ o erings closer together? Customer arrival platform Bluedot released its first Convenience Experience Report, which explored consumer sentiment and the guest experience at gas stations and C-stores across America. It was based on survey data frommore than 1,500 U.S. consumers. Here were some of the findings:

• One in four visit C-stores for lunch. Of that, 29 percent do so for fast food (brands inside the location or proprietary setups) .

Can C-stores steal share? 27 %

A shift in convenience? • 61 percent of consumers in the report said they would visit a C-store more often if mobile ordering, drive-thru, and curbside pickup were available.

1 IN 4

61 %

25 %

at grab-and-go refrigerated items made-to-order food.

hot food (like pizza or hot dogs, etc.)

• Also, 51 percent drop in for snacks , 20 percent for grocery items , and 16 percent for alcoholic beverages .

21 %

• Nearly half would walk out of a C-store if one or two people were in line at the register (30 percent for two people and 16 percent if there’s one person in line) . • 54 percent said they’d turn away if they noticed three people waiting to check out.

How do customers pick one C-store over another?

54 %

56 %

52 %

37 %

25 %

25 %

CHEAP GAS

LOCATION

EASE OF ENTERING & EXITING

CLEANLINESS HIGH-QUALITY GAS

1 IN 3

• One in three would drive away if there was a single car ahead of them at the pump.

Some other points: • Twenty-five percent of people said they were ordering C-store items from third-party apps . If given the choice, however, two out of three preferred to use the C-store’s own app. 25 %

• Three in four consumers believed gas

6 IN 10

stations should start including charging stations for EVs, too.

The kicker:

• 59 percent of

59 %

• Six in 10 were more likely to visit a C-store

respondents said they’d consider purchasing a meal

3 IN 4

if its mobile app automatically unlocked the pump and allowed in-app payments.

from a C-store when stopping for fast food.

C-STORE:ADOBE STOCK / GLOWONCONCEPT. PEOPLE STANDING IN LINE: ADOBE STOCK / ANDREY POPOV. MOBILE ORDER, CURSIDE PICKUP, DRIVE-UP: ADOBE STOCK / ENOTMAKS. CAR AT GAS PUMP: ADOBE STOCK / BARRY BARNES. DRINKS AND FOOD: ADOBE STOCK / BSD STUDIO. LUNCH ICON: ADOBE STOCK / JAN. GAS PUMP & OIL VALUE: ADOBE STOCK / HANDIES PEAK, LOCATION ICON: ADOBE STOCK / DARIACHEKMAN, ROAD ICON: ADOBE STOCK / ANDRE, CLEANING ICON: ADOBE STOCK / ALIYEV84. APP ORDERING & APP PAYMENT ICONS: ADOBE STOCK / SKELLEN, CAR CHARGE: ADOBE STOCK / NEXUSBY

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SEPTEMBER 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com