Limited-time offers, or LTOs, were once a marketing tactic used primarily by restaurants to get customers in the door, but now convenience stores are fully on board.
According to a survey last fall from Technomic, CSP’s sister research firm, the number of LTOs offered at convenience stores more than doubled in the past five years despite the pandemic, from 1,453 in 2018 to 3,209 in 2022, and they were still continuing to rise: there was 4% growth from October to November 2023.
For c-store owners, the appeal of LTOs is obvious: they give customers another reason to come in.
“People usually go to convenience stores to solve a problem,” says Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives at NACS. “They’re hungry or thirsty or need fuel. LTOs can get consumers to think about stores outside of those times when their need is immediate.”
Before 2020, says Claire Conaghan, associate director of Datassential, c-stores were more likely to experiment with new products to lure customers. But since the pandemic, they’ve begun adding to existing product lines that they already know will work.
“They have refined their offerings to what their consumers want and what really makes sense for them,” Conaghan says.
So, for example, Casey’s General Stores, based in Ankeny, Iowa, has been building on its pizza line, while 7-Eleven continues to invent new Slurpees. Wings have been growing in popularity, Conaghan says, because they can work with many different flavors and have a longer life under heat lamps.
LTOs can also provide a chance for c-store executives and marketing teams to let loose and have fun. Lenard is particularly fond of the line of flavored milks offered by Weigel’s Stores in eastern Tennessee. Currently, the stores are selling Banana Pudding; past LTOs have included Peanut Butter Chocolate, Birthday Cake for the chain’s 90th anniversary, and Creamsicle, in honor of the University of Tennessee football team, whose colors are also orange and white.
Marketing is relatively inexpensive, says Lenard, because it can be done through apps and in-store kiosks now instead of with extensive signage. The products don’t necessarily have to be great, but ideally, they will get customers talking.
Surprising the world with strange new flavors is just one strategy. Some stores plan their LTOs to give the customers exactly what they want. EG America, a conglomerate based in Westborough, Massachusetts, whose holdings include Cumberland Farms, Tom Thumb and Turkey Hill stores, relies heavily on customer panels and product testing to plan its LTOs, says Steve Skidds, the director of food services.
“Once we go to market, we know we have a winner,” Skidds says. “It’s more listening to what our customers are asking. It’s not what a bunch of chefs think is going to work for the market.”
There have been definite shifts in the past few years, Skidds says. Gen-Z customers prefer to snack throughout the day instead of relying on three square meals. And now that more people are working from home, there’s been less of a demand for grab-and-go breakfasts on the way to the office and more interest in meals that include elements of both breakfast and lunch, such as the Sunrise Angus Burger and the Vermont Waffle Burger. Customers are also looking for food that’s more on the spicy side, and they’re looking for a good value.
One challenge for the stores, says Skidds, is balancing that value with the actual cost of ingredients, which has gone up due to inflation.
“The days of 99-cent pizza are gone,” he says. “What’s the new value number? We’re still looking for that magic number to drive the consumer back into the store.”
Another challenge of LTOs, Skidds says, is deciding whether to add the new product to the permanent rotation immediately or keep it in reserve to bring back at some later date when the company might need a boost in sales.
“If you hit the button right,” he says, “that’s where growth comes from.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.