How C-stores are Garnering QSR Customers?

We all know that 7-Eleven is offering “better for you” fresh prepared food.  That Wawa considers itself a fast casual restaurant To-Go, and about Sheetz award winning Made-To-Order fresh food that has garnered acclaim from Nation’s Restaurant News.  But what do the customers think? 

For that we turn to CivicScience’s consumer polling and insights platform.  CivicScience asked, U.S. consumers what they think about the quality of today’s freshly prepared food offerings from c-stores when compared to the quality of fast-food restaurants. More than 3,600 responses were collected Aug. 14-Aug. 27, 2014.

Here’s what they found:

1.       “Most consumers (53 percent) believe freshly prepared food offered by convenience stores is of equal or greater quality than the food of "traditional" fast-food restaurants. (This number jumps to 71 percent when eliminating those consumers who say they never eat at either type of business.)

2.       A higher percentage of respondents who believe a c-store’s freshly prepared food is of higher quality consider themselves very active on Facebook and Twitter when compared to the percentage of fast-food fans who say the same.

3.       A higher percentage of fast-food fans consider themselves tightwads in their spending patterns and place a higher value on price over brand when shopping in general. Meanwhile, a higher percentage of convenience food fans value price by a lot when it comes to food shopping and are less brand loyal.

4.       Also, a higher percentage of fast-food fans than c-store food fans see themselves as being healthier, despite 31 percent of them eating at quick-service restaurants fairly often.

Why are restaurant QSR customers migrating?  The simple answer may be equal or better, fresh prepared food.  The ability to bundle meal options at one stop, and price.  C-stores mix and match meal option bundling creates a price value service disequilibrium that will be hard to QSR’s to overcome.

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us  Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. www.FoodserviceSolutions.us