The push by convenience stores into hot, fast, affordable foods is just one of the pressures facing chains like Burger King, Wendy’s and Taco Bell. The traditional fast-food chains are also fighting for customers with smaller restaurant chains, and with supermarkets that offer prepared foods for busy shoppers.
Low prices and speed for ready-to-eat foods at convenience stores are big factors. McDonald’s partly blames its declining number of customer visits in the U.S. on its failure to hold onto the deal-seekers at the cheaper end of its menu after eliminating the Dollar Menu.
“If you go to convenience store conventions, all they talk about is the decline of gas and tobacco, so they have to become more like (fast food),” Dunkin’ Donuts CEO Nigel Travis said in March, noting the effect of convenience stores on his business.
