Five C-store Chains Recognized as Customer Experience Standouts
NATIONAL REPORT — Convenience store chains are earning top ranks for their customer experience.
In partnership with Forbes, customer insights and strategy firm HundredX Inc. unveiled the Customer Experience All-Stars 2024 list. Powered by HundredX data, the list recognizes the top 300 brands for customer experience based on more than 4 million pieces of consumer feedback on 3,100 businesses during the past year.
For the second consecutive year, coming in at No. 1 is Lake Jackson, Texas-based Buc-ee's.
"Our data shows [Buc-ee's] is a must-stop place for many travelers who appreciate its cleanliness and large selection of products and food. It is No. 1 in 10 of the 16 drivers of customer satisfaction that we track across the c-store industry. It is top 6 in all 16!" Andre Benjamin, vice president of strategy at HundredX, told Convenience Store News.
[Read more: Buc-ee's Submits Plans for First Arizona Location]
For the annual list, HundredX collects feedback on companies in more than 80 industries. This year, convenience stores are the second most represented industry on the annual list behind quick, fast and casual dining. Rounding out the top five are grocery, auto brands and hotels.
The remaining convenience store chains who made the annual ranking are:
- No. 10 Kwik Trip Inc. (vs. No. 22 in 2023)
- No. 16 Wawa Inc. (vs. No. 12 in 2023)
- No. 18 QuikTrip Corp. (vs. No. 16 in 2023)
- No. 176 Sheetz Inc. (vs. No. 158 in 2023)
"Convenience stores consistently rank high in our data for providing a great customer experience. It is a very competitive industry with leaders that clearly understand and fulfill their customers' top needs — convenience, cleanliness, competitive gas prices and speed," Benjamin commented. "While industry performance overall on these factors is mixed, the leaders dominate peers on these issues by a very wide margin. Compared to other retail industries, the convenience store industry unsurprisingly dominates in speed and ranks very high for employee attitude."
Of the 50 c-store brands HundredX tracks, All-Stars including Buc-ee's, Kwik Trip, Wawa and QuikTrip are all in the top five for cleanliness and speed according to feedback from real customers.
"Interestingly, while cleanliness is a top reason why someone likes or dislikes a c-store, the industry performs poorly in cleanliness compared to other retail industries, making these leaders stand out," Benjamin noted.
Methodology
The Customer Experience All-Stars rankings take a holistic view of experience, examining best overall outcomes for customers based on a mix of customer satisfaction and treatment of customers. While service-related dimensions vary by industry, consumers provide feedback within the following categories:
- Quality
- People/service
- Speed/convenience
- Price
- Atmosphere
"The Forbes Customer Experience All-Stars List powered by HundredX focuses on the overall result for the customer — arguably the most important indicator of future growth for the company," said HundredX Founder and CEO Rob Pace. "Businesses that made this year's list do a great job understanding the job customers are hiring them to do and setting the bar versus competitors."
[Read more: Six Convenience Retail Chains Rank Among Greatest Workplaces for Diversity]
The 2024 Customer Experience All-Stars list is a part of Forbes' ongoing partnership with HundredX to highlight brands in accordance with real customer feedback. Other Forbes' lists powered by HundredX include Best Brands for Social Impact, Best Customer Service 2024, Customer Experience All-Stars 2023 and the Inaugural Halo 100.
The full report is available here.
Dallas-based HundredX is a mission-based data and consumer insights provider.