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At least at c-stores, familiarity breeds loyalty, according to a new survey.
The national survey of over 600 U.S. drivers from Vontier, a provider of automation technologies, found the 24% who stop multiple times a week -- described as “Super-Users” -- aren’t heading to c-stores primarily for discounts. The most loyal c-stores customers are returning “because the store feels familiar, safe and part of their daily rhythm.”
Among the findings:
- Friendly service over rewards: Frequent visitors value “being known more than being discounted.” Vontier writes, “For them, loyalty is social, not mathematical. It is the nod from the cashier, the predictable rhythm of the stop and the feeling that this is their store.”
- Safety and predictability: About two-thirds of drivers prioritize well-lit, reliable sites. Vontier writes that such conditions “elevates the convenience store into a third place -- the space between home and work where people feel grounded and welcome.”
- Food as culture: With 64% of millennials and 67% of Gen Zers stopping specifically for food and beverage, food offerings help establish c-stores as community hubs. Vontier states, “Food choices signal identity, taste and belonging, and younger drivers treat the convenience store as a place to express that. It is not just fuel; it is flavor, routine and micro-community.”
Vontier’s underlying message was that enhanced automation can free up c-store associates to bring more of the human connection to customers.
“If you want a customer to visit once a month, talk to their wallet. If you want them to visit every day, you have to talk to their heart,” said Andy Bennett, group president of Convenience Retail at Vontier.
Convenience, Loyalty, or Both: C-Stores Find Their Footing in a New Retail and Service Era
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Convenience Store Study 2025 found c-stores providing quality food and beverage options “in a clean and convenient setting” earning the most favor with consumers. Kwik Trip, Wawa, and Sheetz scored the highest grades in their study last year.
Forrest Morgeson, a marketing professor at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at the ACSI, said, “The brands rising to the top are doing more than just selling coffee and snacks. They’re building communities inside their stores.”
The NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores) 2025 Convenience Voices survey still found 23.8% of shoppers typically only purchase fuel on their shopping occasions to a c-store, although more than three quarters (76.2%) will go into the store on some of their visits.
Asked what would most encourage them to step into the store, the top five responses were: better discounts, sales and promotions (38.1%); a loyalty or rewards program (24.7%); fresher/healthier options (24.4%); cleaner restrooms, (23.5%); and faster service/self-service checkout, (23.2%).