September 11, 2026
For years, c-stores occupied a relatively narrow place in the CPG marketing mix as a channel built around fuel stops, impulse purchases, and grab-and-go occasions. Today, convenience stores are a key stop during many consumers’ regular shopping routines; and they're becoming critical for brands that want to drive incremental sales.
Research from the Acosta Group shows that nearly all convenience store shoppers (92%) go inside to purchase food or beverages, while 63% visit at least weekly. That frequency is increasing, too: 26% of shoppers said they made more convenience store trips in 2025, with younger consumers helping to drive the shift. More than a quarter of Gen Z shoppers and nearly a third of Millennials say they visit their favorite convenience store daily.
That makes convenience a high-frequency marketing environment where CPG brands can influence consumers close to the moment of purchase. At the same time, retailer apps and digital offers are making digital activation more viable in c-stores, giving brands new ways to reach shoppers and connect promotions to purchase.
How the c-store shopper is changing
Convenience stores increasingly sit within consumers' normal shopping routines. Convenience store visits often combine high purchase intent with openness to influence. Acosta Group found that 72% of convenience shoppers are making quick trips for something they specifically need. Moreover, 69% are likely to read promotional signage before reaching the register, and 24% are already using a retailer app. That combination of purchase intent and promotional engagement creates a strong environment for brand activation.
Major food and beverage companies are already prioritizing the channel. PepsiCo has identified convenience stores as a priority growth channel and is developing offers specifically for the environment, while Athletic Brewing has described convenience as significant whitespace for future growth.
For CPG brands, shelf space is only the starting point. A c-store promotional strategy, coupled with digital offers and performance measurement, can help shape what shoppers actually buy once they’re in the store.
What the 7-Eleven partnership means for CPG brands
For brands, the 7-Eleven partnership opens a new way to reach convenience shoppers with digital offers while measuring those activations through verified purchases on the Ibotta Performance Network.
Ibotta is now the exclusive third-party provider of CPG digital offers, excluding age-restricted items, across the 7-Eleven, 7NOW and Speedway apps. This partnership brings convenience into a broader performance network: instead of managing convenience store activation through separate programs, workflows, and measurement systems, brands can connect it more closely with activity across other major shopping environments.
That makes a convenience store visit another measurable point within a broader consumer purchase journey.
How c-stores became a performance marketing channel
Performance marketing depends on the ability to connect marketing budget to a measurable outcome and use that feedback to improve results.
Applying that standard consistently to digital offers across physical retail environments has historically been difficult. Brands often relied on activity metrics or post-campaign reporting rather than direct signals tied to purchases.
Digital offers create a different feedback loop. Through the IPN, brands can run item-level offers using a pay-per-sale model, meaning a fee is generated when a qualifying purchase occurs rather than when a shopper simply views or clips an offer. That transaction creates a verified purchase signal that helps marketers understand how promotional activity translates into sales.
Promotions become more measurable and optimizable, with spend tied to verified sales instead of engagement alone. Marketers can evaluate purchase behavior and use performance signals to determine which offers deserve more investment and which need adjustment.
How brands should think about c-store shopper marketing
Convenience store shopper insights point to a broader range of missions than previously thought. Shoppers are making deliberate trips, looking for value, and increasingly interacting with digital retailer experiences.
That creates opportunities across trial, switching, repeat purchase, and basket expansion. A relevant digital offer can give shoppers a reason to choose one beverage, snack, or packaged product over another when a purchase is already likely.
Brands should also think beyond individual channels. The same consumer might shop at a mass retailer, order through a delivery platform, and visit a convenience store within the same day.
Cross-retailer scale lets brands connect convenience store offers with activity across other major retail environments. That makes convenience part of a broader strategy for reaching shoppers wherever purchase decisions happen.
Convenience is entering its own performance marketing era
Consumers are visiting c-stores more frequently. Younger shoppers increasingly see them as regular destinations. Retailer apps are creating new digital touchpoints, and promotional activity can be connected to verified sales.
For CPG brands, convenience can now be approached with the expectations applied elsewhere in performance marketing: measurable outcomes, accountable spend, and the ability to learn from purchase behavior.