Several Newcomers Top GasBuddy’s Q2 2018 C-store Report Card

BOSTON — GasBuddy's second quarter report card welcomes several newcomers.

Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Inc. outranked Wawa Inc. in all categories. The latter c-store operator's rankings this quarter dropped them from the top five brands with 250-999 locations, being replaced by newcomer Holiday Stationstores and Kum & Go LC.

Brands topping the list in the overall experience category in their respective segments include Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s General Store, Kwik Trip Inc. of La Crosse, Wis., and New York-based Stewart's Shops and NOCO Express, respectively.

"The second quarter of 2018 includes the start of the busy summer driving season, and we saw an increase in activity when it comes to rating and reviewing," said Frank Beard, convenience store and retail trends analyst at GasBuddy. "There was major movement across all categories. Some brands that did well last quarter like Wawa fell off the report completely, owing to the impact of seasonal changes. Actively monitoring consumer ratings and reviews is a key strategy to ensure consistent, quality service."

Other highlights of the Q2 GasBuddy report card include:

• Casey’s General Store maintains a strong showing, capturing four of the six categories in the 1000+ locations segment.
• 7-Eleven Inc. captures the top spot in the coffee category in the 1000+ location segment, while former top contender Speedway LLC moved down three rankings.
• Stewart's Shops dethrones Hy-Vee Inc. in four of the six categories amongst brands with 50-249 locations.
• NOCO Express captured the top spot in cleanliness, customer service and outdoor lighting amongst brands with 30-49 locations. Buc-ee's still maintains the top ranking in the restrooms category from Q1 to Q2.
• GasBuddy’s ratings and reviews saw an 8-percent growth from Q1 to Q2 this year. Outdoor lighting received the most ratings out of any category, followed by customer service and cleanliness. 

GasBuddy’s Q2 report card is based on more than 2 million ratings submitted by GasBuddy users in the app between April 1 and June 30. The rankings examine fuel and c-store retailers by number of store locations across the categories of cleanliness, coffee, customer service, outdoor lighting, restrooms and overall experience.

The full report can be found here.

Headquartered in Boston, GasBuddy is a leading source for the most accurate, real-time fuel prices at more than 140,000 gas stations in the U.S, Canada and Australia.