US: C-stores’ food sales higher than fastfoods’

Convenience stores are now biting a chunk of fast food clienteles, according to the market research company NPD Group. NPD’s QSR Plus Retail Market Monitor said that the number of prepared meal purchases made at convenience stores and supermarkets is more than six visits higher than those made to Quick Service Restaurants (QSR).

The study, according to thebaynet.com, validates NPD’s 2013 study on c-stores’ potential to beat fast food restaurants especially when it comes to offering diverse, healthy, and affordable food options. Food quality at c-stores has also dramatically improved as seen in Wegmans’ wide selection of burgers.

Convenience stores have also outnumbered fast food chains as there are approximately 153,794 c-stores compared to 51,467 burger restaurants in the United States.

The c-stores’ fuel offering and one-stop shopping convenience have attracted more visits and helped the stores sell more coffee, snacks, breakfast foods, soft drinks, and Mexican foods than QSRs.

Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst, said, “Learning more about how consumers use retail stores for their foodservice-type meals enable restaurant operators and their supplier partners to understand how to better compete in this area of growing consumer demand.”

The NPD Group's QSR Plus Retail Market Monitor tracks awareness, trial, and usage for QSR operators in major markets and nationally.