Washington, DC – December
2018 / Newsmaker Alert / The
holiday shopping season kicked off with a bang, with an estimated 164 million
people shopping during the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday,
according to projections from the National Retail Federation.
However,
the record number of holiday shoppers during those five days is eclipsed
by the estimated 165 million people who shop at a convenience store every
day, according to a new report released by the National
Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).
Time
To Shop, a new report released by NACS, documents how Americans shop
at convenience stores. The report features data collected from national
consumer surveys conducted this year by public opinion research firm PSB.
Americans
rely on convenience stores to refuel their vehicles, or to grab a quick
snack, beverage or meal—in less than four minutes. These shoppers are all
visiting convenience stores for the convenience of a one-stop shopping
experience with fast speed of service. Most of all, stores fulfill an immediate
need to fuel up or fill up: Convenience stores sell 80% of the gas purchased
in the United States and inside the store 83% of the food, drinks and snacks
shoppers buy are consumed within an hour of purchase.
“Half
of America stops at a convenience store every day, though people may not
even think about the experience because it is so quick and convenient,”
said NACS Vice President of Strategic Industry Initiatives Jeff Lenard.
“Throughout the remainder of the year plenty of holiday shoppers will visit
convenience stores to fill up their cars, grab a quick drink or snack as
they hit the roads, or even buy gift cards and stocking stuffers at c-stores.”
Here
are a few insights into how Americans shop at convenience stores:
-
Convenient
locations: 93% of Americans live within 10 minutes of a convenience
store, including 86% of those living in rural areas. Convenient location
was cited as the top convenience attribute by consumers (33%), outpacing
other convenience offerings including “no lines” (30%), plenty of parking
spots close to the store (9%) and the ability to order online (6%).
-
One-stop
shopping: 48% of gas customers say they went inside the store the last
time they purchased fuel. Of those purchasing an item, 53% say they went
inside primarily to purchase a beverage.
-
Speed
of service: Nearly half of all customers (45%) said they were in and
out of the store with a purchase in under 3 minutes. Meanwhile, 21% spent
more than 5 minutes inside the store, most likely because they were ordering
prepared food or dining inside the store.
-
New
convenience opportunities exist: Frequent convenience store customers
are most likely to embrace retailers that offer instant pay or cashier-less
checkout solutions. Both online ordering for in-store pickup and ordering
items from other stores that could be picked up at in-store lockers were
also heavily favored by frequent convenience store customers.
Download
the complete report at Convenience.org/TimeToShop.
About
NACS
National
Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) advances the role of convenience
stores as positive economic, social and philanthropic contributors to the
communities they serve. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more
than 154,000 stores nationwide selling fuel, food and merchandise, serves
160 million customers daily—half of the U.S. population—and has sales that
are 10.8% of total U.S. retail and foodservice sales. NACS has 2,100 retailer
and 1,750 supplier members from more than 50 countries.
NACS
Contact:
Jeff
Lenard
V.P.,
Strategic Industry Initiatives
703-518-4272 |