This is a year with intense competition for foodservice occasions and limited-time offers serving as the workhorse of convenience-store foodservice promotions.
These observations come from CSP sister research arm Technomic and its C-Store Foodservice Update for spring 2024.
In addition, Chicago-based Technomic said, there will be continued consumer cost-consciousness and innovation growth across foodservice categories.
Bright Side
Overall, c-store operators are optimistic, with 37% expecting foodservice traffic to increase in the next six months, 63% expecting it to remain steady, and none expecting a decrease.
Meanwhile, 26% expect foodservice sales to increase in the same time frame, 73% expect it to remain steady, and 1% expect a decrease.
Limited-Time Offers
Limited-time offers at c-stores dipped in 2023 after growing each of the previous three years. Technomic tracked activity in LTOs and found c-stores offered 1,603 LTOs in 2023. There were 3,209 in 2022, 2,241 in 2021, 1,720 in 2020 and 1,438 in 2019.
However, 50% of surveyed c-store retailers said they are featuring more LTOs in 2024; 43% said they’ll offer about the same amount, and 7% said they are offering fewer.
The most important reasons for presenting LTOs:
- Drawing in new customers
- Boosting the frequency of current customers
- Differentiating from the competition
When it comes to planning LTOs:
- Nearly seven in 10 operators develop an annual calendar
- More than a third began planning in 2023’s second quarter
- The median number of LTOs planned for 2024 is 10, with five food and five beverage
The primary sources of information and inspiration are internal:
- Marketing team
- Sales data
- Foodservice/culinary team
- R&D team
Meanwhile, 69% of LTOs feature national and/or regional brands
Check It Twice
Planning an LTO also requires supplier input. Technomic suggested the following checklist:
- Suggested price
- Fit for one’s brand
- Supply chain/availability
- Fit for one’s consumers
- Expected impact regarding traffic, sales, margin
- Item/ingredient cost
Concerns
Finally, Technomic noted c-store operator concerns. More than seven in 10 are worried about:
- Rising item/ingredient costs
- Rising packaging costs
- Supply chain/availability
- Staffing/labor
The good news, however, is this is down from eight in 10 in October 2023. However, 74% remain concerned about their ability to boost in-store traffic.
Speed, ease and multitasking give c-stores the edge over QSRs, Technomic said. When asked why they buy at c-stores over quick-service restaurants (QSRs), 64% of surveyed consumers said it’s faster/easier to stop at a c-store during their commute, running errands, etc., while 52% said they can buy “other items like gas, retail items and household goods at the same time.”
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