Back-to-school season is here, and consumers are increasingly returning to their previous commuting routines. Now is the perfect time for convenience store operators to make sure their foodservice menus are optimized to drive sales and traffic.
About a fifth of consumers—21%—said they had begun commuting to work again by the first quarter of this year, joining the 43% who never switched to working from home, according to Technomic’s Q1 C-Store Consumer Marketbrief, and other surveys have shown that the return to the workplace is continuing to gain traction.
That translates into more opportunities to capture prepared foods sales from these busy commuters—but only if operators have the right offerings in place. Consumers have, for some time, been loosening their definitions of dayparts, incorporating more snacking in lieu of traditional meals, for example, and eating breakfast foods throughout the day. A strong lineup of high-quality prepared foods that includes handheld snacks and breakfast items, as well as a strong sandwich assortment and other options for lunch and dinner, can help convenience store operators meet consumers’ ongoing demands for on-the-go meals of any type, at any time of day.
The breakfast daypart remains a key area of opportunity for c-store operators. The Q1 Consumer Marketbrief found that just over half—51%—of c-store customers say they purchase breakfast at least once a month from c-stores, but the report suggests retailers can drive increased foodservice purchases with the right products and the right marketing. Among occasion drivers for these purchases are speed, portability, and the c-store being in a convenient location, the report also noted.
Meanwhile, 56% of c-store customers say they purchase lunch at least once a month from c-stores, according to Technomic’s Q2 C-Store Consumer Marketbrief. Consumers say they prefer getting their lunch from convenience stores primarily because they can get in and out quickly (42% cite this as the reason they choose c-stores for lunch) and because the food is portable (cited by 34% of consumers).
While lunch is more popular than either breakfast or dinner for c-store prepared meals, snacking remains the most common daypart for these items. Snacking occasions account for about 36% of prepared-foods purchases, according to the Q2 C-Store Consumer Marketbrief, ahead of lunch at 28%, breakfast at 19% and dinner at 18%.
Along with a strong and varied product offering, promotions may help c-store operators drive traffic to foodservice categories as more consumers resume their on-the-go pre-pandemic lifestyles.
“With the pandemic letting up it will be important to come out of the gate strong with can’t-miss offers and promotions that will draw leery consumers back into stores as they are re-establishing their routines,” the Q2 C-Store Consumer Marketbrief concluded. “Presenting value-driven offers such as combo meals will speak to the consumer need to control spending and execute the purchase quickly, providing opportunity for c-stores to engrain themselves into consumers' new routines.”
Tyson Foodservice offers a range of products and solutions that help c-store operators meet these demands. These include a variety of grab-and-go items, hot foods, prepared chicken products, handheld snacks and roller-grill solutions, with brand names that consumers trust. Visit Tyson Convenience's website to learn more.
This post is sponsored by Tyson Convenience