Satisfying a craving generates unplanned visits.
For c-stores, impulse stops represent about 61% of all visits, said Robert Byrne, director, consumer and insights, of Technomic, a sister data company of CSP based in Chicago. “That’s a powerful majority of c-store foodservice occasions that are unplanned, and this is a significant opportunity,” Byrne said.
Cravings account for about 29% of those decisions, his data shows. “It moves up to about one-third for those unplanned visits, and we see that unplanned visits represent the majority of those occasions as opposed to short, every day, part-of-your-day stops or something you've planned for a special occasion.”
A Casey’s General Store customer responding to the survey said, “They have the best beef pizza, and I always crave their pizza, especially on weekends.”