C-Stores Are Driving Growth With Lunch Offers
Placer.ai data showed that chains with higher shares of lunch visits all grew traffic year over year (YoY) in early 2026.
Oct 23, 2026 | 2 min read
According to data from Placer.ai, a good midday foodservice offer can drive growth for convenience stores. Looking at sales between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the period from January 2026 to August 2026, the foot traffic research firm found that chains with the highest lunch shares all saw visits grow year over year. Brands with the lowest lunch shares recorded modest visit declines.
Buc-ee’s, Kwik Trip, Wawa, QuikTrip. Sheetz and Casey’s all had a lunch share over 25%, and saw year-over-year growth that ranged from 0.6% for Kwik Trip at the lowest end to 7.6% for Buc-ee’s at the top.
“These food-forward chains’ strong lunch business suggests they are meeting demand for affordable, convenient meals as dining out grows more expensive,” wrote Placer.ai.
Meanwhile, the firm also recorded that 7-Eleven’s 2026 Slurpee Day on July 11, which offers customers a free small Slurpee on 7/11, drew its strongest turnout since 2019. Visits were 79.2% above the chain’s Saturday average and 90.7% above its daily average for the preceding 12 months.
In 2025, foodservice accounted for 28.0% of inside sales and 38.9% of inside gross profit, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report®. At the category level, prepared food alone would rank as the No. 1 in-store category overall, surpassing packaged beverages in both sales and gross profit.
As trips become harder to win and consumers continue to be selective with their spending, foodservice is continuing to make c-stores a destination.
