Increasingly, c-store operators are leveraging foodservice programs to differentiate themselves from the pack and cultivate repeat business.
However, real success with these programs—a higher level of customer engagement and a better bottom line—comes not only from offering online ordering, but from doing so via a first-party app with a loyalty component in place of or as an adjunct to a third-party app. Consider the statistics:
And that’s just the beginning.
HOW FIRST-PARTY ONLINE ORDERING SERVES UP C-STORE FOODSERVICE SUCCESS
the average first-party order total is 16% higher than the average third-party order total.
Source: Paytronix Online Ordering Report 2023
FIND OUT MORE
BRINGING IN THE BUCKS
Foodservice has become big business for c-stores.
of small operators and
of large operators sell prepared food
90%
95%
Source: Statista
Source: National Association of Convenience Stores
Overall, average foodservice sales represents 25.6% of c-stores’ monthly in-store sales and 36.1% of in-store gross margin. And a robust foodservice offer is the greatest predictor of in-store profit, with stores in the top decile for in-store operating profit showing foodservice gross profit that is seven times those in the bottom decile.
25.6%
36.1%
Foodservice sales at c-stores have increased to more than 20%, and the category is likely
“stealing market share” from QSRs.
Source: Cardlyticss
C-stores’ share of foodservice sales now stands at 21.39%, up from 18.42% in 2019.
Source: Paytronix Online Ordering Report 2023
QUEUING UP FOR ONLINE
Guests clearly crave online ordering options—and are giving in to their craving in record numbers
41%
of consumers want to be able to order ahead when purchasing food.
Source: Datassential
50%
of guests who have tried online ordering services tap into them more frequently now than a year ago.
Source: Convenience Store News 2022 Realities of the Aisle study
30.7%
Digital orders have risen to about
of total c-store/restaurant food orders, up from just 9.2% in 2019.
Source: Paytronix Online Ordering Report 2023
59%
U.S. consumers believe c-store food is “on par” with food offered by QSRs, with
considering the purchase of a meal when seeking out “fast food.”
Source: Bluedot Convenience Experience Report
Third-party online ordering services have been a viable, utilitarian option for c-stores—and they aren’t going anywhere. But introducing first-party ordering—as well as converting third-party ordering guests to first-party ordering ones—makes sound business sense.
This distinctively different, growing audience is ready
to be cultivated.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
The average c-store loyalty member visits seven times per month, and the most loyal members visit 33 times per month—more than once a day!
Source: Paytronix Loyalty Report 2022
First-party ordering guests tend to purchase pricier items than third-party ordering guests, with tickets averaging $12.35 compared to $10.65.
Source: Paytronix Online Ordering Report 2023
First-party
ordering
attachement rate
Third-party
ordering
attachement rate
Consumers who use first-party ordering options are increasingly more likely than those who use third-party ordering options to be part of a loyalty program.
First-party ordering has an attachment rate of 41%, but the attachment rate for third-party ordering is a mere 3%.
And the average differential between loyalty membership among guests who utilize first-party and third-party
online ordering: 35%!
Source: Paytronix Online Ordering Report 2023
loyal member
visits
average
visits
For c-stores, the advantages of first-party ordering don’t stop there. Operators also benefit from:
Access to actionable data that can be used to make business decisions and formulate strategies that reflect specific consumers’ needs, resulting in more satisfied guests, improved guest engagement, and a better bottom line.
Control over their own data—not possible with third-party delivery aggregators.
ONLINE ORDERING AND LOYALTY: A PERFECT MARRIAGE
Online ordering and loyalty programs also work hand-in-hand to foster stronger, more personalized relationships between c-store operators and their customers, in turn creating sales lift and boosting profits.
Data collected through loyalty programs provides a complete “picture” of individual customers, their demographics, their shopping/ordering habits (e.g. at/from which stores in a chain they order, as well as visit frequency and what they purchase/order) their likes and dislikes, and more. C-store operators can then up their digital guest engagement game by presenting the right offers to the right guests at the right time.
Along with guest input, purchasing data from loyalty programs can be harnessed to identify changes to foodservice programs that will resonate with consumers.
Integrated with a first-party ordering system, the loyalty platform can be used to communicate directly with guests, conveying offers and responding to reviews.
Loyalty programs generate a consistent 18% to 30% lift in visits and spend across industries, brands, segments, and business models.
Brands that respond to a review see a 23% increase in orders and a 22% higher rating from guests.
Increase of annual spend for loyalty program members in 2021.
40%
Source: Paytronix Loyalty Report 2022
First-party online ordering + loyalty data segmentation = bigger slice of the customer pie
SUCCESS STORY
FIND OUT HOW Family Express® REACHED CUSTOMERS
Click Here
X
CLOSE
Foodservice program:
Cravin’s To Order® made-to-order program introduced by upscale chain in 2017. Features made-to-order pizza, boneless wings, cheese-stuffed pretzels, breakfast items, and more.
sustained customer lift
10%
orders through mobile
70%
average add-on value
6$
Results
Challenge:
Wanted to tap into National Pizza Day with limited-time deal of two extra-large pizzas for $12. Availability of online ordering only at select locations created need to ensure that guests who received the offer could actually redeem it.
Approach:
Used the Paytronix Advanced Segmentation component of Paytronix digital guest experience platform to identify loyalty program members who had visited Family Express locations with online ordering, or had shopped at nearby locations, within the past 60 days. Opted out of in-store signage and POP marketing, instead optimizing marketing dollars by sending offer via push-pull message to these guests alone.
Family Express®
Locations: 81
PUSHING ONLINE ORDERING FORWARD WITH
Easy does it
Leading digital ordering solutions from Paytronix enable c-store retailers to meet the immediate needs of their guests, increasing sales and ensuring guest satisfaction and engagement. With Paytronix Online Ordering, a SaaS-based platform, operators can easily:
An integration of the Paytronix Online Ordering platform with technology from PDI, a global provider of enterprise management software for the c-store and petroleum wholesale industries, helps c-store operators win in the ever-more-competitive digital ordering marketplace by enabling them to:
Design menus
Optimize offerings
Create and leverage their own white-label first-party online ordering platform
Aggregate with third-party marketplaces
React to customer feedback in real time
Integration for the win
Sell their full inventory, including center-store items, through first- and third-party online ordering channels, in turn increasing guest basket size.
Give guests what they want more quickly via search functionality, while increasing basket size and spend by harnessing intelligent built-in upsell and cross-sell features to present consumers with additional items in real time.
Reduce order errors, in turn bolstering guest satisfaction.
Improve financial tracking and reporting by utilizing the capabilities needed to reconcile any differences between back-end accounting systems and third-party marketplaces, reducing manual labor and errors.
Why Paytronix?
Seamless integration with other solutions implemented in c-stores is a start.
Then, there are the numbers:
years of experience
20+
transactions—
and counting
40+
billion
client brands served
1.8K+
client locations served
35K+
Want to know more?
Visit www.paytronix.com or call us at (617) 649-3300
Click Here