CINCINNATI — C-stores are now among the top performers in the entire quick-service restaurant industry, according to a new national analysis from customer data science firm dunnhumby. In its first Retailer Preference Index for QSRs, c-stores not only ranked alongside traditional restaurant chains but also led the top tier.
The report evaluates 58 QSRs on how well their customer value propositions position them for long-term, sustainable market share growth. While 51 are traditional QSR chains, seven c-stores were included because they “receive a clear majority of their customers as meal mission destinations,” dunnhumby said. This inclusion reflects how strongly c-stores now “blur the lines with QSRs,” and dunnhumby refers to the full group collectively as QSRs throughout the report.
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Buc-ee’s ranks first nationwide, followed by Kwik Trip at No. 2. Wawa, Sheetz, and Casey’s also appear in the top quartile of the index, placing five c-stores among the top 14 and highlighting their increasing prominence as meal destinations.
The performance gap between the top quartile and the rest of the QSR field is wide. “Over the past 5 years, top quartile QSRs have seen their foot traffic grow by an average of 5.9 percent per year, compared to only 0.2 percent growth for bottom quartile QSRs and 1.8 percent growth for third quartile retailers,” the report said. “This equates to, on average, 6 times faster growth than most retailers in the market.” Dunnhumby added that the leading brands “secure superior trust, attachment (sad if closed), and draw with its customers.”
Customer perceptions in six key pillars drive long-term reach and emotional connection. In order of importance, the pillars are “Quality Experiences and Products, Visibility, Convenience and Speed, Affordability, Product Variety, and Frictionless Experience.” Dunnhumby finds that first-quartile retailers “have stronger customer perceptions in those pillars that matter more for driving reach, growth, and emotional connection.”
C-stores play a central role in that top tier. According to the report, the first quartile includes “c-stores blurring the lines with QSRs, like Buc-ee’s, Wawa, Sheetz, and Kwik Trip,” alongside traditional QSRs such as Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out and Raising Cane’s. Dunnhumby identifies four strategic pathways to first-quartile performance. “Some of the retailers in the 1st Quartile wield just one of these strategies, but the retailers who are clearly separated even from other 1st Quartile QSRs wield two of the four strategies,” the report said.
The four strategies are: “Quality Excellence,” “Leading Convenience and Product Variety,” “Leading Affordability and Steady Benefits Performance,” and “Strong Quality and Product Variety and Highly Visible in Communities and Mindspaces.” First-quartile brands also tend to focus more on breakfast and snacking missions than on dinner, a pattern that aligns closely with the strengths of many c-stores.
Dunnhumby highlights the growing cultural presence of top c-stores, noting their reach across both digital and physical spaces. The report notes that visibility leaders such as Buc-ee’s “use social media and branded products, paired with strong Quality and Product Variety, to steal missions away from traditional QSRs.” These brands are “leading the ‘fourth place’ of social media reels and mindspace,” aided by branded merchandise that appears frequently in consumers’ homes and communities. This visibility “helps them ride to some industry-leading results,” including emotional connection for Buc-ee’s.
Overall, the findings position c-stores as the most significant source of disruption in the restaurant industry. Dunnhumby concludes that “the traditional QSR space is ripe for disruption from c-store chains that go all-in on blurring these lines and do it with the right areas of focus.”
Traditional pizza chains retain advantages in affordability and frictionless transactions, but none place in the first quartile. According to the report, they underperform on the highest-weighted pillar, “Quality Products and Experiences,” placing them well behind the strongest C-store competitors.
