What Refreshment Operators Can Learn from Leading Convenience Store, Wawa

October 4th, 2024

In a recent customer satisfaction study by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®), Philadelphia-based Wawa won first place with an industry-leading score of 82 out of 100 points available. QuikTrip was a close second with an ACSI score of 82, followed by Murphy USA and Buc-ee’s. Shell placed last with a score of 74. What can refreshment operators learn from this study?

Despite an 8-point difference between first and last place, there were clear enhancements being made to improve the customer service experience: customized food offerings, larger merchandise selections, reward programs, and mobile ordering services. Customers are taking notice of these improvements.

“The top-performing convenience store brands are now on par with fast food chains in terms of food quality and variety, offering customers a wide range of fresh, gourmet options. By focusing on the in-store dining experience, while maintaining the speedy service that customers have grown accustomed to, convenience stores may have found the perfect recipe for success,” said Forrest Morgeson, Associate Professor of Marketing at Michigan State University and Director of Research Emeritus at the ACSI in the recent press release. Convenience stores “are becoming serious competitors in the food service industry,” he added.

Convenience stores got high marks for convenience of store hours, location, and mobile app quality. Among those who use the store’s mobile app (34%), app quality and reliability were important. Rewards members play a crucial role in customer satisfaction. In fact, members are more satisfied, perceive higher value, visit more frequently, and are more likely to recommend the store to others compared to nonmembers.

Food quality and food variety were also important to consumers. Stores like Wawa aren’t just succeeding because of convenience though. When it comes to customer experience, they’re competing well with fast food restaurants. For example, while the average score for cooked food quality at convenience stores ranks slightly lower than fast food chains, some stores like Wawa actually do just as well or better than fast food chains. The same is true for food variety.

On a scale of 0-100, customers ranked several factors for satisfaction (among others). Customers ranked key factors such as store hours and location (83), mobile app quality (81), cooked food quality (80), and checkout speed (79) highly, while merchandise variety (75) and promotions (69) were lower on the scale.

For refreshment operators, this study highlights the importance of offering high-quality food, maintaining a convenient experience both in-store (including mobile apps), and leveraging rewards programs to enhance customer satisfaction.

The ACSI® Convenience Store Study 2024 was based on 5,710 completed surveys by randomly selected customers.