Wawa and Cumberland Farms are America’s top ranked C-stores, based on brand equity

New York, NY, October 17, 2017 – Today, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) released findings from its 2017 Store Choice Drivers Report for the Convenience Channel at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show in Chicago, Illinois.

Nielsen’s 2017 Store Choice Driver Report for the Convenience Channel is a comprehensive analysis for retailers and manufacturers, offering deep insights into why shoppers visit certain stores; how attitudes impact shopper behavior; and how retailers are responding to changing perceptions and attitudes. This report leverages actionable insights to grow business across convenience channels and winning tactics to convert shoppers, increase satisfaction, and drive store sales. The customizable report provides convenience store (c-store) rankings based on a variety of attributes to help competition gain a stronger understanding of their position in today’s marketplace.

Key Snapshot Findings

Top Ranked C-stores by Brand Equity

• Wawa had the highest equity among convenience stores in 2017, followed by Cumberland Farms, with Sheetz and Kwik Trip also ranking in the top five in America

Fastest Growing C-Store Categories: 52 weeks ending April 1, 2017 (vs. a year ago)

• Liquid tea (+27%)
• Tobacco alternatives (+25%)
• Premixed alcohol cocktail (+19%)
• Cookies (+10%)
• Liquor (+9%)

Key Takeaways:

• 33% of c-store shoppers expect to purchase fresh food in the convenience channel in the future
• Focus on differentiating the destination by offering fresh ready-to-eat/healthy foods, as quality is the biggest claimed barrier for purchasing fresh food in c-stores
• Shopping experience/satisfaction can increase with focus on store operations around good customer service, store cleanliness, quick in-and-out, and product availability

“Now more than ever, consumers value convenience. As a result, retailers are placing big bets across a variety of hot button topics to differentiate themselves and drive growth,” says Nikhil Sharma, vice president consumer and shopper analytics, Nielsen. “Understanding the most impactful ways to influence shoppers in their decision of where to shop will help keep convenience retailers in lock step with ever-evolving consumers and a step ahead of their competition, as well as empowering marketers to make real-time, data-driven decisions to create growth outcomes.”  

The Nielsen’s 2017 Store Choice Driver Report for the Convenience is part of Nielsen’s Shopper Essentials Suite. For more information, please visit: http://sites.nielsen.com/shoppertunity/.

About Nielsen

Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen’s Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which content—video, audio and text—is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry’s only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.