3 Ways College Students Are Using C-Stores

CHICAGO -- It’s no secret that college students are generally pressed for cash and time, making convenience stores a prime foodservice solution for this demographic.

How are c-stores stacking up against the competition when it comes to foodservice usage on and off campus? Here are three revealing c-store insights from Technomic’s new 2017 College & University Consumer Trend Report …

C-stores are a top consideration for off-campus foodservice

Nearly two-fifths of college and university students (37%) say they visit a c-store for foodservice items off campus at least once a week. Technomic’s report shows that the only two segments university students frequent more than c-stores for foodservice on a weekly basis are fast-food restaurants and coffee cafes.

Fast casual narrowly beats out c-stores for on-campus foodservice

About two-fifths of students (41%) say they visit on-campus c-stores for prepared food on a weekly basis. Unlike off-campus foodservice visits, slightly more students visit fast-casual chains (43%) than c-store chains on campus at least once a week.

C-stores snag snack purchases on campus

Of all restaurant and retailer segments measured by Technomic, c-stores showed up in the top three most visited on-campus locations for all types of snacks—those in the morning, afternoon and night. Over a third of college and university students say they purchase midmorning and late-night snacks from on-campus c-stores at least once every three months. And more than half of all students say the same for midafternoon snacks.