Convenience Storesโ Steal Breakfast Share From Fast-Food Giants
September 13, 2024 – Convenience stores are increasingly becomingโค a go-to destination for breakfast, siphoning customers away from traditional fast-food โchains like McDonald’s and Dunkin’, according to โrecent data โคand industry analysis. While โmaking breakfast at home remainsโ teh most economical option, โc-stores are winningโข over consumers with convenience, variety, and increasingly, food quality.
Data from Indagari, a transaction data analytics firm, reveals that McDonald’s and Dunkin’ have experienced a combined 3.5% decline in their customer base overโข the past year. This shift coincides withโข a growing trend of consumers opting for made-to-order breakfast options at โconvenience โขstores.
A โขrecent InTouch Insight survey for CNBC found that 1,170 respondents indicated they had purchased made-to-order breakfast from a c-store โwithin the last three months. Notably, 48% of those respondents stated they were choosingโ the c-store option instead of a visit to a fast-food restaurant.
“Buying coffee and breakfast from a c-store likely won’t be cheaper than making it at home. But consumers perceive it as ‘good bang for their buck,'” explained Sarah Beckett, vice โpresident of sales and marketing for InTouch Insight.โค
Beyond price โฃperception, c-stores offerโข a broader range โof choices than many fast-food competitors. In addition to coffee,they โฃtypically stock energy drinks,protein shakes,yogurtโ smoothies,granola bars,and fruit -โค providing options to complement breakfast sandwiches.
However, experts emphasize that food quality โisโฃ the ultimate deciding factor. “While [a] convenience store broadly does have some tailwind from being a โlower price point, the ultimate differentiator, โขand what’s really going to set apart the winners from losers, is that quality aspect of it,” said Circana’s Portalatin.
Casey’s General โStores, the โคthird-largest c-store chain in the U.S., exemplifies this trend. The โฃIowa-based chain, which also claims to be the fifth-largest pizza concept by location count, โขreported same-store sales growth of 5.6% for prepared food and dispensed beverages for the three โmonths ended July 31.
Itsโฃ breakfast pizza, a staple since 2001 featuring cheese, scrambled eggs, โand a choice of bacon,โฃ sausage, or vegetables, has cultivated a dedicated following.
“I think Casey’s is kind โof a unique โthing,”โข said Brady Caviness, a 33-year-old account executive from Minneapolis, who favors Casey’s breakfast pizza whenโค traveling.โ “My โขwhole life, I’ve had the Egg McMuffins.”
The rise of convenience store breakfast highlights aโ changing โlandscape in the fast-service restaurant industry, where convenience and varietyโ are increasingly valued alongside price andโข tradition.
