According to Convenience Store News’ 2023 Shopper Study, C-stores have a great appeal for younger shoppers as they are visiting the stores more than their older counterparts, with many visiting daily.
The study found younger consumers went to the stores more frequently when compared to one year ago. One-third of Gen Z respondents (33%) and 30% of millennials said they visited convenience stores more frequently in the past year. Meanwhile only 17% of Gen X respondents and 8% of baby boomers surveyed said they were making more trips to convenience stores.
Meanwhile 26% of Gen Z and 31% of Millennials said they are shopping at their favorite convenience store each day. By comparison, 23% of survey respondents in Generation X and only 10% of baby boomers said the same.
Overall, 14% of Gen Z shoppers and 13% of Millennial consumers reported daily visits to the Convenience Store News study. Daily trips to supercenters/mass merchants by these two key groups were similar to grocery stores as 13% of Gen Z and 12% of Millennials respectively saying they shopped daily at retailers in this channel of distribution.
Slightly less than half (49%) of Gen Z respondents and 48% of Millennials visit a C-store at least once a week. Fifty-one percent of Gen X consumers surveyed and 48% of baby boomers said they pay a visit to their favorite convenience store at least once a week.
When it came to what products they were buying, salty and sweet snacks, energy drinks, stilled bottled water and snack packs are among the most popular items to purchase at convenience chains.