Convenience stores are eating fast-food chains’ breakfast
On May 29, 2024, the Washington DC shows a Wawa store.
Kent Nishimura | Getty Images
Fast-Food Restaurants are losing breakfast customers to the markets.
According to Sunday research firm Circana, morning dinner traffic to fast-food chains increased by 1% in the three months that ended in July.
“The markets are really in food service, but the morning dinner was a strong outfit,” Circana said, David Portalatin, CNBC, CNBC. He said.
For decades, McDonald’s And his competitors tried to remove the consumers out of the house to eat their offers in the early hours of the morning, betting that this ease and unique items would win on the diners. According to Portalate, fast-food chains make some upsupies, while 87% of consumers eat and drink in the morning come from their refrigerators or cellar. This leaves plenty of opportunities for anyone who wants fast-food chains and a slice of breakfast pie.
File Photo: A McDonald’s Corp. for a photo in the USA, New York. McGRDLE Breakfast Sandwich Exhibits
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Before PANDEM, Fast-Food chains began to see a new competitor for breakfast customers: markets. Regional chains like Wawa in the northeast and Casey’s General Store They were expanding their access in the Middle West and they were investing in food services by taking pages from fast-food companies’ own game books.
For a while, locking and transition to hybrid work reversed this market share gains. However, according to Portalatein, within three months that ended in July, food advanced markets once again won the war to serve the breakfast of consumers.
Circan, Buc-Ee and Sheetz, such as food markets from the wider industry, but more chains can soon fit under the umbrella. 7-ELEVEN, the biggest comfort in the USA Planning to invest Inspired by the success of the Japanese business, it is more in prepared food. On Wednesday, C-Store chain announced that he bought Racetrac Potbelly For about $ 566 million, it is unclear what it does not contain beyond expanding the footprint of plans for the sandwich chain.
Fast-Food’s breakfast failure
In recent years, more food budgets, rising menu prices are aware of a strict labor market.
According to data obtained from income management solutions, the last three years of last year has fallen into fast-food chains for the last three years. In the second quarter, fast-food breakfast visits fell by 8.7%.
To see the struggles, do not look anywhere other than McDonald’s, which dominates the category of fast service breakfast.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski, the company’s call for earnings in late July, “… Breakfast Daypart is the most economically sensitive day, because McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in the late July. we see. “
According to Placer.ai data, McDonald’s Morning visits made 33.5% of traffic, but in the first half of 2025, 29.9%. Chain to try to open traffic, Hash brown and a sausage mcmuffin agreement with eggs for a small coffee for $ 5, including new extra valuable dishes.
To reverse the slide of the breakfast, Fast-Food chains take clues from competition. After many years of markets, the order of food sales prepared from the establishment of order to new menu elements for ideas for the ideas for the idea of fast-food chains after the stores of dynamic reversed.
“[Quick-service restaurants] They look at sales late at night and the sales early in the morning and look directly at the markets and ‘What does it work? How can we bring this to our stores? ” National Markets Union spokesman Jeff Lenard told CNBC.
C-the rise of the food dinner
Prepared foods, gasoline, tobacco and lottery tickets for the demand for the demand for the market presented a life line for the markets. According to NACS data, the general food service sales of the industry reached 121 billion dollars in 2024.
Most customers offer a perfect opportunity to visit the C-ca-cars to sell breakfast or dinner during the morning and evening hurry hours. 72% of consumers this year Investigated by Intouch Insight He said they saw C-as a real alternative to fast-food chains between 56% and 45% two years ago.
In general, C-Uagazas, which focus on fresh foods, earn more customers.
For example, while Wawa saw that the customer base has grown 11.5% since 2022, while fast-food chains McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s According to the data analysis company, a transaction data analysis company, he also saw that the combined customer bases shrink by 3.5%.
The majority of 1.170 participants in an Intouch Insight questionnaire for CNBC said that they had purchased breakfast in the last three months in the morning on a C-bond in the morning. Forty -eight percent of the respondents, when they choose breakfast from a market, otherwise they can replace a visit to a fast food restaurant like McDonald’s or Dunkin ‘.
C-buying coffee and breakfast from the caba will probably not be cheaper than making it at home. However, according to Sarah Beckett, Vice President of Sales and Marketing in Intouch Insight, consumers perceive this as “good explosion for their money”.
In addition, C-Store customers receive a wider option. In addition to coffee, gas stations sell energy drinks, protein tremors and yogurt smoothies. And customers can get a granola bar or bananas to accompany breakfast sandwiches. Fast-food chains lack such a variety.
But first of all, what is important for consumers is the food itself.
“During [a] The market is a broader price point of the market, the quality aspect of the final differentiating and the winners from the losers. “He said.
Signage in Casey’s general store.
Courtesy: Casey’s General Stores
Brady Caviness, a 33 -year -old account manager living in Minneapolis in Bailwick, said that Casey had a breakfast pizza from the General store while traveling to CNBC. When he returned home, where there was no Casey nearby, McDonald’s, Dunkin Starbucks If it is in the mood of buying breakfast.
The Iowa-based chain is the third largest C-Ughaza chain of the country and claims to be the fifth largest pizza concept based on the number of locations. Casey reported the same store sales growth, which was 5.6% for the food and distributed drinks prepared for three months that ended on July 31st.
Like Taco Bell’s Mexican pizza, Casey’s breakfast pizza, cheese, whipped eggs and bacon, sausage, or vegetable option, has grown on top of the cult in 2001.
“I think Casey is a unique thing, Cav Caviness said. “There was egg mcmuffins all my life.”
