A Lesson in Perseverance

Perseverance: Continued effort to achieve something despite difficulties, failure or opposition.

The convenience store industry’s small operators (1-20 stores) know a lot about perseverance. It isn’t easy being a small fish in a big pond, especially when the biggest fish in that pond is 12,000 times your size if you’re one of the industry’s 90,000-plus single-store operators.   

“Being a single-store operation, many vendors refuse to treat us the same as other stores in the area that are chains, even though we are a very high-volume store for their products. … In some cases, we outsell the chain stores in the area if you just looked at the individual store sales. It is extremely frustrating,” lamented one participant in this year’s fifth-annual Convenience Store News State of the Small Operator Study, which surveys c-store operators with 20 stores or less to better understand the opportunities and challenges they face vs. larger operators. 

Along with struggling to get equal attention from suppliers and distributors, small operators are also having to work harder than large operators these days to shield themselves from the impact of inflation. Roughly 60% of the small operators we surveyed for this year’s study cited inflation and economic issues as their biggest business challenge for 2024. 

Their ranks are also under pressure from rising fuel prices, staffing challenges, supply chain issues (particularly, out-of-stocks) and increasing operational costs. And, as if that’s not enough to contend with, changing consumer expectations of “convenience” and the ongoing advancement of the c-store business to keep up with those expectations are putting the industry’s small operators in a precarious position: get better or become obsolete. 

Many are rising above adversity, finding ways to stand out and persevere. For Double D Market in Defiance, Mo., the focus is on providing that small “mom and pop” feel and personal service. For HOP Shops, operating in Kentucky and Ohio, it’s offering Disco Bathrooms complete with color spotlights, a spinning disco ball and music you can boogie to. 

The findings of our 2024 study also uncovered that small operators should: 

• Focus on the customer experience to help with customer retention.
• Establish a clear strategy for their foodservice programs to avoid losing momentum.
• Stay aware of new technology trends so that they can adopt the ones that best suit their resources and budgets.
• Investigate solutions for how they can improve their vendor relationships.

Being a small fish in a big pond doesn’t mean you can’t make a big splash!