When defining what a positive shopping experience is, a myriad of factors come into play. More than half of c-store shoppers put the price of products at the top of the list, followed by variety of products offered and general convenience.
Factors That Describe a Positive Shopping Experience
% of respondents selecting (n=1,509)
Price of products
56%
34%
32%
26%
21%
21%
17%
17%
16%
15%
11%
4%
c-store shoppers say “shopping experience”
is important when they’re deciding which stores to shop.
Only 3 percent say it is not important at all.
% selecting by gender (n=1,509)
Factors That Describe a Positive Shopping Experience
Females
Males
Headline
Bold Body Copy
Body Copy Example
Sec. Headline or Subtitle
Price of products
General convenience
Variety of products offered
Quality of prepared food
Store cleanliness
Employee friendliness
Speed of shopping trip
Employee helpfulness
Loyalty/rewards program
Fun to shop
Organization of store
Look and feel of store
Embraces cutting-edge technology
60%
Note: Values circled indicate statistically significant differences between groups.
29%
25%
16%
30%
22%
14%
17%
23%
13%
18%
11%
2%
Both
52%
34%
33%
26%
23%
21%
18%
17%
17%
27%
16%
12%
6%
Call out
There is some room for improvement, however. Just rated their store highly on the fun-to-shop attribute, and just gave high ratings to the price of products.
(n=1,260-1,509)
Performance Ratings
for Convenience
Store Shopped Most Often
General convenience
Speed of shopping trip
Store organization
Store cleanliness
Employee friendliness
Employee helpfulness
Variety of products
Loyalty/rewards program
Quality of prepared food
Fun to shop
Price of products
Excellent/
Very Good
Fair/Poor
Good
80%
76%
71%
72%
71%
68%
66%
66%
56%
17%
18%
23%
22%
21%
22%
24%
21%
25%
3%
7%
5%
8%
8%
10%
19%
What compels a shopper to visit a specific convenience store over another? The research shows loyalty programs are
the top influencer. Additionally, digital marketing tactics are growing in influence, particularly when a price or savings component is involved, such as gas price apps, social media offers, and mobile app offers.
% selecting total & by gender
(n=1,509)
Influencers to Visit a Convenience Store
Note: Values circled indicate statistically significant differences between groups.
c-store shoppers overall typically visit the same store each time. Daily c-store shoppers are even more likely to be loyal to a particular store, at
is a buzzword in the convenience store industry, with several major retailers making this a strategic focus for 2020. But what exactly does a positive customer experience mean to c-store shoppers? What’s most important to them? The exclusive 2020 Convenience Store News Realities of the Aisle Study, which surveyed more than 1,500 c-store shoppers in the United States, answers these questions, and much more.
“Customer experience”
Six in 10
Price of products
General convenience
Variety of products offered
Quality of prepared food
Store cleanliness
Employee friendliness
Speed of shopping trip
Employee helpfulness
Loyalty/rewards program
Fun to shop
Organization of store
Look and feel of store
Embraces cutting-edge technology
Good news for the convenience channel is that shoppers appear to be largely satisfied. General convenience and speed of trip received the highest percentages of excellent and very good ratings when survey respondents were asked to rate the c-store where they shop most often.
Females
Loyalty
33%
31%
35%
Word of mouth
31%
28%
35%
Coupon
27%
29%
25%
Social media promotion
22%
17%
27%
Radio or TV advertisement
19%
11%
28%
Mobile ordering
15%
10%
20%
None of the above
14%
17%
12%
Billboard
13%
7%
19%
Email
12%
9%
16%
Text message
11%
8%
13%
Print circular
10%
9%
11%
Gas price app
22%
24%
21%
Mobile app offer
21%
18%
25%
Total
Females
Males
Variety of products offered
General convenience
Store cleanliness
Employee friendliness
Quality of prepared food
Employee helpfulness
Organization of store
Speed of shopping trip
Fun to shop
Look and feel of store
Embraces cutting-edge technology
33%
58%
56%
Nearly 3 in 4
78 percent.
76%
23%
7%
72%
18%
5%
71%
71%
68%
66%
66%
63%
58%
56%
22%
21%
8%
8%
22%
10%
24%
10%
21%
13%
27%
28%
25%
10%
14%
19%
Loyalty/rewards program
20%
When defining what a positive shopping experience is, a myriad of factors come into play. More than half of c-store shoppers put the price of products at the top of the list, followed by variety of products offered and general convenience.
is a buzzword in the convenience store industry, with several major retailers making this a strategic focus for 2020. But what exactly does a positive customer experience mean to c-store shoppers? What’s most important to them? The exclusive 2020 Convenience Store News Realities of the Aisle Study, which surveyed more than 1,500 c-store shoppers in the United States, answers these questions, and much more.
“Customer experience”
% of respondents selecting (n=1,509)
c-store shoppers say “shopping experience”
is important when they’re deciding which stores to shop.
Only 3 percent say it is not important at all.
Six in 10
58%
56%
Factors That Describe a Positive Shopping Experience
Price of products
Embraces cutting-edge technology
Look and feel of store
Fun to shop
Speed of shopping trip
Organization of store
Employee helpfulness
Quality of prepared food
Employee friendliness
Store cleanliness
General convenience
Variety of products offered
56%
34%
32%
26%
21%
21%
17%
17%
16%
15%
11%
4%
Loyalty/rewards program
20%
Price of products
General convenience
Variety of products offered
Quality of prepared food
Store cleanliness
Employee friendliness
Speed of shopping trip
Employee helpfulness
Loyalty/rewards program
Fun to shop
Organization of store
Look and feel of store
Embraces cutting-edge technology
% selecting by gender (n=1,509)
Note: Values circled indicate statistically significant differences between groups.
Factors That Describe a Positive Shopping Experience
Females
Both
Males
Headline
Bold Body Copy
Body Copy Example
Sec. Headline or Subtitle
60%
29%
25%
16%
30%
22%
14%
17%
23%
13%
18%
11%
2%
52%
34%
33%
26%
23%
21%
18%
17%
17%
27%
16%
12%
6%
Call out
Price of products
General convenience
Variety of products offered
Quality of prepared food
Store cleanliness
Employee friendliness
Speed of shopping trip
Employee helpfulness
Loyalty/rewards program
Fun to shop
Organization of store
Look and feel of store
Embraces cutting-edge technology
There is some room for improvement, however. Just rated their store highly on the fun-to-shop attribute, and just gave high ratings to the price of products.
58%
Good news for the convenience channel is that shoppers appear to be largely satisfied. General convenience and speed of trip received the highest percentages of excellent and very good ratings when survey respondents were asked to rate the c-store where they shop most often.
(n=1,260-1,509)
Performance Ratings for Convenience
Store Shopped Most Often
General convenience
Speed of shopping trip
Store organization
Store cleanliness
Employee friendliness
Employee helpfulness
Variety of products
Loyalty/rewards program
Quality of prepared food
Fun to shop
Price of products
Excellent/
Very Good
Fair/Poor
Good
80%
76%
72%
71%
71%
68%
66%
63%
66%
58%
56%
17%
18%
28%
23%
22%
22%
21%
24%
21%
27%
25%
3%
7%
5%
8%
8%
10%
10%
13%
10%
14%
19%
What compels a shopper to visit a specific convenience store over another? The research shows loyalty programs are the top influencer. Additionally, digital marketing tactics are growing in influence, particularly when a price or savings component is involved, such as gas price apps, social media offers, and mobile app offers.
Note: Values circled indicate statistically significant differences between groups.
% selecting total & by gender
(n=1,509)
Influencers to Visit a Convenience Store
c-store shoppers overall typically visit the same store each time. Daily c-store shoppers are even more likely to be loyal to a particular store, at
Nearly 3 in 4
78 percent.
Females
Loyalty
33%
31%
35%
Word of mouth
31%
28%
35%
Coupon
27%
29%
25%
Social media promotion
22%
17%
27%
Radio or TV advertisement
19%
11%
28%
Mobile ordering
15%
10%
20%
None of the above
14%
17%
12%
Billboard
13%
7%
19%
Email
12%
9%
16%
Text message
11%
8%
13%
Print circular
10%
9%
11%
Gas price app
22%
24%
21%
Mobile app offer
21%
18%
25%
Total
Females
Males
33%