Five C-store Chains Rank Among America's Best Retailers
NATIONAL REPORT — A positive customer experience, quality products and reasonable prices are among the many attributes that retailers must offer in order to be successful.
Gauging the pulse on first-rate places to shop, Newsweek partnered with Statista for the third annual ranking of America's Best Retailers. More than 7,000 shoppers were surveyed for their opinions on retailers spanning 40 categories, resulting in a ranking that recognizes the 200 best places to make a purchase.
The final assessment and rankings were based on the likelihood of recommendation (50% of the final score) and five evaluation criteria (also 50% of the final score):
- Products — measures the quality, price, range and variety of products offered in-store
- Customer service — measures the friendliness, helpfulness and availability of employees in-store
- Atmosphere — measures the general atmosphere, lighting/illumination, music and cleanliness of stores
- Accessibility — measures the parking availability, store hours and convenience of store location
- Shop layout — measures the order that products are displayed, aisle size, product presentation, mannequins and store size
Five convenience store chains ranked the best of the best, with Lake Jackson, Texas-based Buc-ee's taking the No. 1 spot in the Convenience Stores category. The retailer, which earned a score of 94.37, also recently earned the No. 1 spot on the 2024 Forbes Customer Experience All-Stars List, and nabbed a top spot on Forbes inaugural 2024 Best Brands for Customer Service List.
Pennsylvania-based Wawa Inc. took the No. 2 spot with a score of 90.08. The chain was recently named a two-time winner of the 2024 Loyalty360 Awards, which recognize brands that are building stronger and deeper loyalty with their customers in a proactive, meaningful and measurable way.
Rounding out the top five convenience chains who made Newsweek and Statista's 2024 America's Best Retailers ranking are Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip Corp. (No. 3 with a score of 89.6), Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Inc. (No. 4 with a score of 88.9) and Oklahoma City-based Love's Travel Stops (No. 5 with a score of 86.9).
In addition to Buc-ee's, Wawa, QuikTrip and Sheetz landed on the 2024 Forbes Customer Experience All-Stars List earlier this year.
To view the complete 2024 America's Best Retailers ranking, click here.