Kwik Trip and Wawa are Top Rated Retailers for Food in the U.S. Convenience, Dollar and Drug Channels, According to dunnhumby’s Retailer Preference Index

dunnhumby study unveils the top 10 retail brands in the $291 billion
market, based on customer preferences

LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#CustomerFirst—dunnhumby,
the global leader in customer data science, revealed Kwik Trip, Wawa and
Quik Trip are the top three retailers for food in the $291 billion U.S.
Convenience, Dollar and Drug channels, according to its nationwide study
which was released today at the NACS Show. The latest dunnhumby
Retailer Preference Index (RPI) surveyed 5,500 U.S. households
focusing on three food channels – Convenience, Dollar and Drug – and
then dunnhumby analyzed consumer emotional sentiment and preference for
37 of the largest retailers. The top ten retailers with the highest
consumer preference index scores are: 1) Kwik Trip, 2) Wawa, 3) Quik
Trip, 4) Speedway, 5) CVS, 6) Sheetz, 7) Cumberland Farms, 8) Walgreens,
9) Dollar Tree, 10) Turkey Hill.

“Consumers today are starved for time and as a result are making more
quick food shopping trips to Convenience, Dollar and Drug stores. The
goal of our study is to understand macro trends in the Convenience
space, and to provide retailers with a benchmark for how they are
performing on the different drivers of consumer preference,” said Jose
Gomes, President of North America for dunnhumby.

“The data enables us to drill down into a specific retailer and identify
their high-level strengths and weaknesses. Matching this up with
industry opportunities and threats – such as Digital, Health or
competitive trends – we can begin to diagnose a retailer’s key issues
and opportunities. With a clear diagnosis, it is possible to shape a
customer strategy that focuses the organization’s attention and
resources on those areas of the business that will drive return trips
and improve performance.”

The RPI found that there are six drivers of customer preference:

• Convenience – Customers are interested in convenient locations and
  hours. They want to be able to get in and out quickly and they want
  fast and easy checkouts. Customers also want the right variety of food
  and beverage products.
• Price – Customers want lower prices than other stores and their
  preferred brands to be in stock.
• Quality – Customers want quality products, clean stores and bathrooms,
  and a safe location.
• Meal Destinations – Customers want appetizing, ready-to-eat food,
  fresh produce and healthy food options.
• Discounts and Rewards – Customers want relevant, easy to use discounts
  and coupons that reward them for shopping.
• Digital – Customers want easy ways to shop online, and want stores to
  have an mobile app that makes shopping easier and provides useful
  information.

“We believe that our focus in this RPI on how customers perceive
convenience, prices, and quality and how these perceptions affect both
the level of the emotional connection and the customer’s preference
intensity is critical for understanding why some retailers excel while
others fall behind,” said Gomes. “By building loyalty and preference
with customers, convenience retailers can improve the performance of
existing stores rather than having to continually build top line sales
through acquisition, which could be more challenging moving forward
because of higher interest rates and the rise of digital and alternative
food channels.”

Key findings from the study:

• Convenience plays a much bigger role in customer preference than Price
  and Quality. Convenient locations, hours of operation and speed play a
  big role in store preference.
• Quality-focused regional retailers such as Kwik Trip, Wawa and Quik
  Trip have stronger connections and customer preference compared to the
  larger retailers with higher store counts.
• Retailers ranked higher in the RPI also tend to have a lower
  proportion of franchisees/licensees than retailers ranked lower. On
  average, retailers in the top half of the ranking are 7 percent
  franchised. By contrast, retailers in the bottom half are 48 percent
  franchised.
• Convenience stores stand out from the Drug and Dollar channels in
  their strength in Meal Destination and their weakness in Price.
• Drug stores are stronger in Quality, Rewards, and Digital compared to
  Convenience stores and Dollar stores.
• Dollar stores are strongest in Price but are weaker than Convenience
  stores and Drug stores in Quality and Convenience.
• Six in 10 Convenience Store customers shop Dollar stores and Drug
  stores at least three times a month.
• 50 percent of Dollar store customers shop the other two channels
  regularly.
• 50 percent of Drug store customers cross-shop the other two channels.

The latest dunnhumby RPI is available for download today at: https://www.dunnhumby.com/resources/reports/convenience-retailer-preference-index-2018

About dunnhumby

dunnhumby is the global leader in Customer Data Science, empowering
businesses everywhere to compete and thrive in the modern data-driven
economy. We always put the Customer First.

Our mission: to enable businesses to grow and reimagine themselves by
becoming advocates and champions for their Customers. With deep heritage
and expertise in retail – one of the world’s most competitive markets,
with a deluge of multi-dimensional data – dunnhumby today enables
businesses all over the world, across industries, to be Customer First.

The dunnhumby Customer Data Science Platform is our unique mix of
technology, software and consulting, enabling businesses to increase
revenue and profits by delivering exceptional experiences for their
Customers – in-store, offline and online. dunnhumby employs over 2,000
experts in offices throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas
working for transformative, iconic brands such as Tesco, Coca-Cola,
Meijer, Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal.

Contacts

Silicon Valley Story Lab for dunnhumby
Theresa Smith, 818-681-6456
theresa@siliconvalleystorylab.com