Prepared Meals v. Dining Out

Arko Corp. has started work on the first of seven new food-focused convenience stores that will operate under the Fas Mart brand, C-Store Dive reports. And they have plenty of company, as other convenience store chains – including such national ones as 7-Eleven and Circle K, as well as regional players like Wawa and Buc-ee’s – are putting an emphasis on better-quality food offerings for their on-the-go consumers.

Those moves, along with burgeoning meal offerings at such supermarket chains as Kroger and Whole Foods, are having a growing impact on the restaurant business, a new survey by Revenue Management Solutions finds. Based on responses from more than 2000 U.S. consumers, RMS found that grocery and convenience store meals are becoming go-to meal stops for more and more consumers. (The results of that effort have been synthesized into a report titled “Check, Please or Checkout? How Grocery & Convenience Are Competing With Restaurants.”)

Here are some major findings from the survey:

• Supermarkets and convenience stores are gaining ground. Consumers are shifting more of their dining dollars to grocery and convenience stores, with 24% purchasing more meals from grocery stores and 15% increasing their convenience store meal purchases.
• Grocery’s top picks: Frozen meals and beverages. When shopping for meals at grocery stores, consumers are reaching for frozen options and beverages. These preferences highlight evolving mealtime habits and signal opportunities for restaurants to enhance their menu offerings.
• Value and convenience drive spending. Price tags and convenience are calling the shots as consumers seek more bang for their buck and easier meal solutions —and grocery and convenience stores deliver. It’s time for restaurants to reexamine their value equation to prove why dining out is worth it.

As c-stores and supermarkets meal offerings continue to grow in popularity with consumers, restaurants must be actively searching for new ways to compete for consumers’ dollars, the report concludes. For more on those strategies, click here to register to see the full report.