Eighty-five percent of consumers have tried made-to-order food from convenience stores.
“And the really cool trend over the last few years is that more and more consumers are considering convenience as a legitimate competitor to QSRs,” said Cameron Watt (pictured), president and CEO of Intouch Insight, speaking at CSP’s Outlook Leadership conference Aug. 20. “It’s now 72% of people who view it as a serious competitor.”
7-Eleven, Irving, Texas, for example, has announced plans for 1,300 new stores to be developed in the United States between now and 2030 with a QSR foodservice focus, he said.
“So, this is absolutely the direction where things are going now,” Watt said.
Going mobile, but changing
Cars are the primary location for where customers eat the food they buy at c-stores—but things are changing, he said.
“What’s interesting with the trend is that there’s more [eating] in the store, and there is a decent amount they’re taking home,” Watt said, noting that 49% of consumers ate c-store food in a car while driving in 2024; that percentage, however, dropped to 38% in 2025.
Those eating in a parked car was 22% in 2024 and 27% this year, while those eating the food at their destination jumped from 18% last year to 22% this year. Meanwhile, 5% ate in the c-store in 2024, while 11% have done so this year.
More eating in the store and at their destination reflects “QSR restaurant competitor behaviors,” he said, noting that the increase “over the last couple years is partly because we’re building the ability for them to eat in the store where it may not have existed before, right, but they’re also taking home.”
These behaviors mean that the consumers “will come with us if we choose to go that direction,” he said. “That’s what the data is saying.”
Watt cautioned, however, not to forget that many still are eating in cars because “that affects your packaging,” he said. “It affects what you give them in the bag. It affects all the things you need to know because mostly it’s still in the car, and what are they eating: handheld items, which are absolutely what they’re taking away most of the time.”
Even breakfast, he said, lends itself “very much” to handheld delivery.
Breakfast, along with all other made-to-order meal categories consumers usually buy at c-stores, is up from 2024 to 2025—with the exception of the “other” category:
- Sandwiches, wraps and paninis are up from 66% in 2024 to 79% in 2025
- Breakfast items: up 44% to 51%
- Hot meals: up 29% to 35%
- Salads: up 20% to 25%
- Soups: up 9% to 13%
- Other: down 16% to 11%
“What that says is that people are more willing to try new and different food items at convenience stores as well,” Watt said. “Maybe they used to have a sandwich, right? It’s pretty good. Quality was good, it was hot, it was fresh, so then they tried a breakfast item, and then they’re willing to try the soup station. It builds on itself, the credibility, and we’re starting to get that credibility building.”
The top motivating factor for consumers to buy made-to-order food from a c-store, Watt said, is in the name. “Location, location, location, convenience,” he said.
And while the convenience factor hasn’t changed as the primary driver to buy c-store food—it increased from 61% in 2024 to 66% this year— the ‘promotions and discounts’ category has increased as a motivating factor from 7% to 11% in the same period.
QSRs and other restaurants for decades have used coupons, promotions, special offer and bundles, Watt said.
“That is their lifeblood,” he said, adding that as consumers see c-stores as a food option alternative to QSRs and other restaurants, promotions and discounts come into play.
“People are saying, ‘We’d buy that from a convenience store, too,’” he said.
“Now that they’re viewing you as a competitor, they’re looking at that,” he said. “So, promotions are starting to enter the picture a little bit more.”
Intouch Insight, Ottawa, Ontario, is a customer experience solutions provider. It also conducts CSP’s Mystery Shop audit.
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