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FIT CHECK · ORDER AHEAD

Would ordering ahead work at your stores?

Fast-food chains have taught customers to order before they reach the counter. Sheetz takes food orders on touchscreens, Nouria and QuikTrip have ordering kiosks, and Rusty Lantern has a pickup cart for orders placed ahead. A free Fit Check shows which of your stores look like the places where that works.

Apply it to my stores

3 quick questions · no sales data needed · free

Touchscreens at a Sheetz counter under an Order Fresh Food Here sign
SPOTTED · Sheetz, Nouria, QuikTrip and Rusty Lantern

What we saw

Ordering kiosks and touchscreens at the counter, pickup shelves for app orders, and "Skip the line" signs on the door.

What we learned

Ordering ahead frees the counter at the rush, and a kiosk suggests an add-on with every order. It works best where fast-food chains have already taught customers to order on an app. It isn't delivery: shoppers pick up in the store, and it can start without new hardware, with orders from an app or a website.

Who it's for

Stores that make food to order and have a morning or lunch rush.

The order-ahead cocktail

What made it work at Sheetz, Nouria and QuikTrip

A lunch crowd (people working within 2 miles), commuters (the daily traffic on the store's road), fast-food chains nearby that take app orders, so customers already know how, and ages 18 to 34.

What has to be true in a c-store

Food made to order, a wait at the rush, and an app or room for a kiosk. From your answers. Nearly 9 in 10 fast-food trips are meals, vs. about 1 in 5 c-store food trips, and lunch is the biggest meal at both, so ordering ahead pays at the lunch rush. Per person, a c-store meal costs about what a fast-food meal costs, so the wait is where a c-store can win.

In your full Fit Check

What reviews say about your wait at the rush, and your best add-ons.

You see every input and how each store ranks on it. How much each factor counts is shared only with you, privately, in your full Fit Check.

What comes back

  • Where to try ordering ahead first, store by store, each with a twin.
  • The lunch crowd and the app-ordering chains around each store.

The Foodservice read →The Online ordering read →The Staffing and labor read →The field note →The Pre-Launch Pilot Read →

What a Fit Check analyzes around each store

Demographic profile in a 2-mile radius

Population, median household income, ages and bachelor's degrees from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2019-2023 5-year estimates), for every census tract within 2 miles.

Breakfast and lunch crowd

People who work within 2 miles, from the Census Bureau's LEHD (2023), and the daily traffic on the store's road, from the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 counts.

The mealtime competition

Fast food, sandwich, burger, pizza, chicken, taco, deli and bagel places within 1 mile and within a quarter mile, the cheapest lunch nearby, and the restaurant brands inside c-stores nearby, from Overture Maps place listings (September 2026).

Fast-food chains that take app orders

National fast-food and coffee chains within a mile that take orders on an app.

Registered competitors in the ZIP code

Limited-service restaurants (NAICS 722513), supermarkets (445110), convenience stores (445120) and gas stations with convenience stores (447110) in each store's ZIP code, from the Census Bureau's ZIP Code Business Patterns (2022). We show them next to each store in the quick read, as a check on the map listings.

Apply it to my stores

Other Fit Checks you can run

Wegmans case of single protein portions, each labeled, with protein grams on the shelf strip

Salad bases with pricey add-ons

Stores that already sell any kind of salad, in busy lunch areas or in towns with no health grocer nearby.

Apply it to my stores
A sign on a TotalEnergies pump island in Berlin promoting the hot snack of the month, a Leberkäse roll

Snack of the month promoted at the pump

Any store with fuel, especially near a highway.

Apply it to my stores
A wall of instant ramen packets in a CU store in Seoul, labeled Ramyun Library

Becoming a ramen destination

Any store with hot water and 4 to 8 feet of shelf, especially near schools, colleges and nightlife.

Apply it to my stores
A self-checkout at a Shell station in Orono, Maine, with a sign: Go ahead, check yourself out! Skip the line and save time!

Deploy self-checkout where lines form

Stores where the line at the morning or lunch rush gets long enough that people walk out.

Apply it to my stores
A Royal Farms door poster: Hot To-Go 2 for $6, or 2 for $5 with rewards

Promote member prices

Chains with a loyalty program, or about to launch one, since a member price needs a program to join.

Apply it to my stores
A Casey's PIN pad asking for the rewards phone number, with a Tap here button

Excessive loyalty discount check

Chains with a loyalty program, with or without fuel.

Apply it to my stores

Want to look around first? See all our field notes →

How a Fit Check works

  • Pick a concept and answer a few quick questions about your stores.
  • Tell us your chain's name, any other names, your fuel brands and your website, or paste a list of your store addresses. We find your stores on public maps, and you uncheck any that aren't yours.
  • We score every store vs. all 207,335 US c-stores and gas stations on the concept's cocktail: what made it work where we saw it, measured around each store, and what has to be true in a c-store, from your answers.
  • Each store lands in 1 of 3 tiers: "Ready now," "Next wave" or "Not a priority now," with our analysis showing the strongest reasons why. The ready stores that meet the most ingredients are the ones to try first, each with a modeled twin from your own chain, so you can measure the result.
  • See a quick read in about a minute, or get the full Fit Check by email within 2 business days, with an estimate of the sales lift the concept needs to pay off at each store we'd try it in first.

EXAMPLE

What you get back

Heartland Markets is a fictional chain of 42 stores. We put its stores at real c-store sites around Providence, in Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut, so the public data around every store is real, and so is what it shows about how well each concept fits each store.

12 ready now, 6 of them to try first · 14 next wave · 16 not a priority now

5075

75 or more is ready now, and the 6 of those that meet the most ingredients go first, each with a twin to compare with. 50 to 74 is the next wave. Under 50, hold off. (The cutoffs differ a little by concept.)

Try it here first (6)Ready now (12)Next wave (14)Not a priority now (16)Twin: select a store to try first
What each icon reads:The lunch crowdCommutersFast-food chains that take app ordersAges 18 to 34More segments filled: a better fit than more US c-stores

Ready now (12)

The 6 to try first are the ready stores that meet the most ingredients. A ready store with a higher score comes after them when it falls short on one.

Try it here first

Store 34 · 691 Valley St, ProvidenceScore 99
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • 30 fast-food chains that take app orders within a mile, so shoppers already know how
  • A lunch crowd: 100,320 people work within 2 miles, more than at 97% of US c-stores
  • 35% of residents are 18 to 34, more than at 95% of US c-stores

Twin: Store 30 · 556 Central Ave, Pawtucket

ZIP 02908: 26 limited-service restaurants · 9 supermarkets · 7 convenience stores · 6 gas stations with convenience stores

Try it here first

Store 33 · 457 Benefit Street, ProvidenceScore 98
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • A lunch crowd: 90,216 people work within 2 miles, more than at 97% of US c-stores
  • 37% of residents are 18 to 34, more than at 96% of US c-stores
  • 20 fast-food chains that take app orders within a mile, so shoppers already know how

Twin: Store 18 · 964 Cranston St, Cranston

ZIP 02903: 55 limited-service restaurants · 5 supermarkets · 7 convenience stores · 4 gas stations with convenience stores

Try it here first

Store 38 · 629 Bald Hill Rd, WarwickScore 92
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores
  • 25 fast-food chains that take app orders within a mile, so shoppers already know how
  • Commuters: 27,200 cars a day on Bald Hill Rd
  • A lunch crowd: 28,685 people work within 2 miles, more than at 84% of US c-stores

Twin: Store 35 · 370 Putnam Pike, Smithfield

ZIP 02886: 48 limited-service restaurants · 8 supermarkets · 5 convenience stores · 11 gas stations with convenience stores

Try it here first

Store 24 · 356 West Main Road, MiddletownScore 89
  • The lunch crowd: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • 19 fast-food chains that take app orders within a mile, so shoppers already know how
  • 28% of residents are 18 to 34, more than at 84% of US c-stores
  • Commuters: 20,800 cars a day on West Main Road

Twin: Store 42 · 37 Manville Rd, Woonsocket

ZIP 02842: 26 limited-service restaurants · 5 supermarkets · 0 convenience stores · 5 gas stations with convenience stores

Try it here first

Store 37 · 2027 Post Rd, WarwickScore 89
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores
  • A lunch crowd: 37,825 people work within 2 miles, more than at 89% of US c-stores
  • 12 fast-food chains that take app orders within a mile, so shoppers already know how
  • Commuters: 23,300 cars a day on Post Rd

Twin: Store 27 · 202 Thames St, Newport

ZIP 02886: 48 limited-service restaurants · 8 supermarkets · 5 convenience stores · 11 gas stations with convenience stores

Try it here first

Store 20 · 2200 Pawtucket Ave, East ProvidenceScore 85
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • A lunch crowd: 21,428 people work within 2 miles, more than at 78% of US c-stores
  • 26% of residents are 18 to 34, more than at 76% of US c-stores
  • Commuters: 21,300 cars a day on Pawtucket Ave

Twin: Store 29 · 1003 Mineral Spring Ave, North Providence

ZIP 02914: 26 limited-service restaurants · 5 supermarkets · 0 convenience stores · 5 gas stations with convenience stores

Also ready now, by score

Store 21 · 69 Taunton Ave, East ProvidenceScore 85
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores

40% of residents are 18 to 34, more than at 97% of US c-stores

Not first, since it falls short on 1 ingredient: Fast-food chains that take app orders

ZIP 02914: 26 limited-service restaurants · 5 supermarkets · 0 convenience stores · 5 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 8 · 178 Robeson St, Fall RiverScore 83
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores

19 fast-food chains that take app orders within a mile, so shoppers already know how

Next in line: it meets every ingredient too

ZIP 02720: 18 limited-service restaurants · 7 supermarkets · 10 convenience stores · 5 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 18 · 964 Cranston St, CranstonScore 82
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores

A lunch crowd: 35,532 people work within 2 miles, more than at 88% of US c-stores

Next in line: it meets every ingredient too

ZIP 02920: 27 limited-service restaurants · 9 supermarkets · 4 convenience stores · 9 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 30 · 556 Central Ave, PawtucketScore 82
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores

A lunch crowd: 25,918 people work within 2 miles, more than at 82% of US c-stores

Next in line: it meets every ingredient too

ZIP 02861: 24 limited-service restaurants · 0 supermarkets · 3 convenience stores · 6 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 31 · 71 Cedar St, PawtucketScore 76
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores

A lunch crowd: 28,792 people work within 2 miles, more than at 84% of US c-stores

Not first, since it falls short on 1 ingredient: Commuters

ZIP 02860: 24 limited-service restaurants · 11 supermarkets · 4 convenience stores · 8 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 35 · 370 Putnam Pike, SmithfieldScore 75
  • The lunch crowd: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: below the middle of US c-stores

Commuters: 35,000 cars a day on Putnam Pike

Not first, since it falls short on 2 ingredients: The lunch crowd · Ages 18 to 34

ZIP 02917: 13 limited-service restaurants · 0 supermarkets · 3 convenience stores · 8 gas stations with convenience stores

Next wave (14)

Store 32 · 1020 Narragansett Blvd, ProvidenceScore 74
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores

A lunch crowd: 35,887 people work within 2 miles, more than at 88% of US c-stores

ZIP 02905: 26 limited-service restaurants · 9 supermarkets · 6 convenience stores · 4 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 10 · 397 Sawyer St, New BedfordScore 73
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores

14 fast-food chains that take app orders within a mile, so shoppers already know how

ZIP 02746: 16 limited-service restaurants · 6 supermarkets · 10 convenience stores · 10 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 42 · 37 Manville Rd, WoonsocketScore 72
  • The lunch crowd: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores

25% of residents are 18 to 34, more than at 73% of US c-stores

ZIP 02895: 27 limited-service restaurants · 7 supermarkets · 9 convenience stores · 10 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 27 · 202 Thames St, NewportScore 71
  • The lunch crowd: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores

31% of residents are 18 to 34, more than at 91% of US c-stores

ZIP 02840: 28 limited-service restaurants · 7 supermarkets · 8 convenience stores · 4 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 29 · 1003 Mineral Spring Ave, North ProvidenceScore 71
  • The lunch crowd: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores

A lunch crowd: 23,570 people work within 2 miles, more than at 80% of US c-stores

ZIP 02904: 31 limited-service restaurants · 7 supermarkets · 3 convenience stores · 10 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 36 · 171 Old Tower Hill Rd, WakefieldScore 67
  • The lunch crowd: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores

27% of residents are 18 to 34, more than at 81% of US c-stores

ZIP 02879: 18 limited-service restaurants · 3 supermarkets · 0 convenience stores · 5 gas stations with convenience stores

Not a priority now (16)

Store 11 · 120 S Washington St, North AttleboroScore 46
  • The lunch crowd: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Only 9,500 cars a day on Washington St, fewer than at 61% of US c-stores
  • 21% of residents are 18 to 34, fewer than at 61% of US c-stores
ZIP 02760: 23 limited-service restaurants · 5 supermarkets · 3 convenience stores · 8 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 16 · 642 Washington St, CoventryScore 44
  • The lunch crowd: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Only 1 fast-food chain that take app orders within a mile
ZIP 02816: 13 limited-service restaurants · 3 supermarkets · 0 convenience stores · 12 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 17 · 2148 Broad St, CranstonScore 44
  • The lunch crowd: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Only 1 fast-food chain that take app orders within a mile
  • Only 9,300 cars a day on Broad St, fewer than at 62% of US c-stores
ZIP 02905: 26 limited-service restaurants · 9 supermarkets · 6 convenience stores · 4 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 41 · 367 Fairmount St, WoonsocketScore 44
  • The lunch crowd: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: in the bottom quarter of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • Only 3,800 cars a day on Fairmount St, fewer than at 84% of US c-stores
ZIP 02895: 27 limited-service restaurants · 7 supermarkets · 9 convenience stores · 10 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 40 · 74 Friendship St, WesterlyScore 40
  • The lunch crowd: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Commuters: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Only 9,200 cars a day on Friendship St, fewer than at 62% of US c-stores
  • 21% of residents are 18 to 34, fewer than at 60% of US c-stores
ZIP 02891: 24 limited-service restaurants · 8 supermarkets · 3 convenience stores · 5 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 4 · 303 Kennedy Dr, PutnamScore 39
  • The lunch crowd: in the bottom quarter of US c-stores
  • Commuters: below the middle of US c-stores
  • Fast-food chains that take app orders: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Ages 18 to 34: above the middle of US c-stores
  • Only 2,604 people work within 2 miles, fewer than at 84% of US c-stores
ZIP 06260: 13 limited-service restaurants · 3 supermarkets · 0 convenience stores · 4 gas stations with convenience stores
How to read a score, a tier and a twin
  • Score: where a store stands on the concept's ingredients vs. all 207,335 US c-stores and gas stations on public maps. 90 means a better fit than 90% of them.
  • Ready now: 75 or more (85 or more for self-checkout, which only pays at the busiest stores). The ones to try first, up to 15% of your stores (at least 2, at most 8), are the ready stores that meet the most ingredients, then the highest scores.
  • Next wave: 50 to 74 (60 to 84 for self-checkout). Not a priority now: under 50, with the 2 ingredients that hold it back.
  • Ingredient icons fill in by how the store compares: 3 segments for the top quarter of US c-stores, none for the bottom quarter. With 2 or more, the store meets that ingredient.
  • A bonus ingredient, like being the last stop before an empty stretch, helps a store's score when the store has it. A store to try first doesn't need it.
  • Twin: for each store to try first, the store in your chain that looks most like it on the same ingredients, in the same state when possible and at least 1 mile away. Compare the 2 once the concept runs, and you'll be able to isolate what the change added to sales at the store where you made it.

A tier says where to try the concept first and how to measure it. It doesn't estimate what the concept would add in sales yet. A read measures that, store by store, vs. each store's twin.

How a read works →

What we learned testing concept-retailer fit on 6 chains

  • We scored all 207,335 US c-stores and gas stations on public map listings, so each of your stores was compared with every c-store in the country.
  • Where health grocers and salad chains open is predictable from public data. Given 2 c-stores, one with a health grocer or salad chain within a mile and one without, our model scores the first one higher 93% of the time.
  • We ran the 9 Fit Checks on 502 stores at 6 chains, from Maine to California. At the 2 chains in the densest suburbs, about 3 in 4 stores were ready now for salad. At the 3 chains with the most small-town stores, about half or more weren't a priority for salad.
  • Self-checkout sets the highest bar: at 3 of the 6 chains, 1 store in 7 or fewer was busy enough.
  • The snack of the month splits chains by where drivers come from: the typical store scored 72 at the most highway-heavy chain and 44 to 54 at the other 5. The Fit Check is selective: it tells chains, and the stores within a chain, apart, so it shows where to try a concept first instead of saying yes everywhere.

Sources: Overture Maps place listings (September 2026); the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2019-2023), LEHD LODES (2023), TIGER/Line roads (2023) and ZIP Code Business Patterns (2022); the Federal Highway Administration's HPMS traffic counts (2024); USDA's Food Access Research Atlas (2019); NCES IPEDS (fall 2023); NACS State of the Industry (2025).