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FIT CHECK · DEPLOY SELF-CHECKOUT WHERE LINES FORM

Which of your stores are busy enough for self-checkout?

Circle K, Nouria, Rusty Lantern and a Shell station in Maine put self-checkout where the line forms, with a sign that invites shoppers to use it. A camera checkout can cost $60,000, and it only pays where a line forms every day. A free Fit Check shows which of your stores are busy enough, and which aren't, so you don't put a machine where it won't pay for itself.

Apply it to my stores

3 quick questions · no sales data needed · free

A self-checkout at a Shell station in Orono, Maine, with a sign: Go ahead, check yourself out! Skip the line and save time!
SPOTTED · Circle K, Nouria, Rusty Lantern, QuickChek and GS25

What we saw

Self-checkout by the door, under its own sign, with a screen that invites shoppers to skip the line.

What we learned

Self-checkout only pays where lines form. In a quiet store, or out of sight, it sits idle while the cashier waits for customers. Most stores need a better-staffed register at the rush, not a machine.

Who it's for

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

The self-checkout cocktail

What made it work at Circle K, Nouria and Rusty Lantern

A rush: the daily traffic on the store's road, people working within 2 miles (the lunch rush), high schools within a mile (the after-school rush), and a busy strip or highway exit.

What has to be true in a c-store

Lines that form most days, and enough transactions at the rush to keep a machine busy. From your answers. Most drink-and-snack trips are 1 or 2 items (87%), and a cashier rings those up fast, so self-checkout saves time only where a line forms.

In your full Fit Check

The payback for each store at your own cost and wages.

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

  • The stores busy enough for self-checkout now, the ones to watch, and the ones where it would sit idle too much of the time.
  • The payback line: a $60,000 checkout has to save about $55 a day over 3 years. That's about 3.6 hours of a cashier's time at the industry's average wage of $15.04.

The Self-checkout read →The Staffing and labor read →The field note →The Pre-Launch Pilot Read →

What a Fit Check analyzes around each store

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.

Highways and traffic

Miles to the nearest limited-access highway and whether the store sits on a US or state highway, from the Census Bureau's TIGER/Line 2023 roads, and the daily traffic on its road, from the Federal Highway Administration (2024).

Colleges, schools and gyms

College students within 2 miles who aren't online-only (NCES IPEDS, fall 2023), high schools within 1 mile, and gyms and fitness studios within 3 miles.

Busy strips and newer-style competitors

Chain restaurants, gas stations and hotels within half a mile, highway exits, and newer-style c-store chains within 5 miles.

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.

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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 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.

8 ready now, 6 of them to try first · 9 next wave · 25 not a priority now

6085

85 or more is ready now, and the 6 of those that meet the most ingredients go first, each with a twin to compare with. 60 to 84 is the next wave. Under 60, hold off. (The cutoffs differ a little by concept.)

Try it here first (6)Ready now (8)Next wave (9)Not a priority now (25)Twin: select a store to try first
What each icon reads:Traffic on the store's roadThe lunch rushThe after-school rushA busy strip or highway exitMore segments filled: a better fit than more US c-stores

Ready now (8)

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 97
  • Traffic on the store's road: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • At a highway exit, with 14 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile
  • A lunch rush: 100,320 people work within 2 miles, more than at 97% of US c-stores
  • An after-school rush: 2 high schools within a mile

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 96
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • At a highway exit, with 10 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile
  • An after-school rush: 5 high schools within a mile
  • A lunch rush: 90,216 people work within 2 miles, more than at 97% of US c-stores

Twin: Store 31 · 71 Cedar St, Pawtucket

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

Try it here first

Store 20 · 2200 Pawtucket Ave, East ProvidenceScore 93
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • At a highway exit, with 14 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile
  • A lunch rush: 21,428 people work within 2 miles, more than at 78% of US c-stores
  • 21,300 cars a day on Pawtucket Ave, more than at 75% of US c-stores

Twin: Store 24 · 356 West Main Road, Middletown

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

Try it here first

Store 18 · 964 Cranston St, CranstonScore 89
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • At a highway exit, with 14 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile
  • An after-school rush: 3 high schools within a mile
  • A lunch rush: 35,532 people work within 2 miles, more than at 88% of US c-stores

Twin: Store 42 · 37 Manville Rd, Woonsocket

ZIP 02920: 27 limited-service restaurants · 9 supermarkets · 4 convenience stores · 9 gas stations with convenience stores

Try it here first

Store 37 · 2027 Post Rd, WarwickScore 89
  • Traffic on the store's road: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • 22 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile
  • A lunch rush: 37,825 people work within 2 miles, more than at 89% of US c-stores
  • 23,300 cars a day on Post Rd, more than at 78% of US c-stores

Twin: Store 38 · 629 Bald Hill Rd, Warwick

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

Try it here first

Store 8 · 178 Robeson St, Fall RiverScore 87
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • At a highway exit, with 17 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile
  • An after-school rush: 3 high schools within a mile
  • A lunch rush: 25,632 people work within 2 miles, more than at 82% of US c-stores

Twin: Store 10 · 397 Sawyer St, New Bedford

ZIP 02720: 18 limited-service restaurants · 7 supermarkets · 10 convenience stores · 5 gas stations with convenience stores

Also ready now, by score

Store 38 · 629 Bald Hill Rd, WarwickScore 92
  • Traffic on the store's road: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: below the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores

At a highway exit, with 11 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile

Not first, since it falls short on 1 ingredient: The after-school rush

ZIP 02886: 48 limited-service restaurants · 8 supermarkets · 5 convenience stores · 11 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 35 · 370 Putnam Pike, SmithfieldScore 89
  • Traffic on the store's road: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: below the middle of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: below the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores

At a highway exit, with 12 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile

Not first, since it falls short on 2 ingredients: The lunch rush · The after-school rush

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

Next wave (9)

Store 24 · 356 West Main Road, MiddletownScore 79
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores

21 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile

ZIP 02842: 26 limited-service restaurants · 5 supermarkets · 0 convenience stores · 5 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 31 · 71 Cedar St, PawtucketScore 76
  • Traffic on the store's road: below the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores

At a highway exit, with 12 chain restaurants, hotels and gas stations within half a mile

ZIP 02860: 24 limited-service restaurants · 11 supermarkets · 4 convenience stores · 8 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 42 · 37 Manville Rd, WoonsocketScore 73
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: above the middle of US c-stores

An after-school rush: 4 high schools within a mile

ZIP 02895: 27 limited-service restaurants · 7 supermarkets · 9 convenience stores · 10 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 21 · 69 Taunton Ave, East ProvidenceScore 72
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: below the middle of US c-stores

A lunch rush: 77,904 people work within 2 miles, more than at 96% of US c-stores

ZIP 02914: 26 limited-service restaurants · 5 supermarkets · 0 convenience stores · 5 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 30 · 556 Central Ave, PawtucketScore 71
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores

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

ZIP 02861: 24 limited-service restaurants · 0 supermarkets · 3 convenience stores · 6 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 32 · 1020 Narragansett Blvd, ProvidenceScore 68
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: above the middle of US c-stores

A lunch rush: 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

Not a priority now (25)

Store 5 · 237 Washington St, AttleboroScore 59
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: below the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • No high school within a mile
ZIP 02703: 34 limited-service restaurants · 10 supermarkets · 9 convenience stores · 13 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 28 · 6769 Post Rd, North KingstownScore 59
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: below the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: above the middle of US c-stores
  • No high school within a mile
ZIP 02852: 14 limited-service restaurants · 6 supermarkets · 0 convenience stores · 3 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 29 · 1003 Mineral Spring Ave, North ProvidenceScore 58
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: below the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: below the middle of US c-stores
  • No high school within a mile
ZIP 02904: 31 limited-service restaurants · 7 supermarkets · 3 convenience stores · 10 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 13 · 2264 Grand Army of the Republic Highway, SwanseaScore 56
  • Traffic on the store's road: below the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: below the middle of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: below the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • No high school within a mile
  • Only 5,558 people work within 2 miles, fewer than at 60% of US c-stores
ZIP 02777: 8 limited-service restaurants · 0 supermarkets · 4 convenience stores · 6 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 14 · 69 Weir St, TauntonScore 54
  • Traffic on the store's road: below the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: below the middle of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • No high school within a mile
ZIP 02780: 32 limited-service restaurants · 6 supermarkets · 12 convenience stores · 15 gas stations with convenience stores
Store 7 · 1625 Robeson St, Fall RiverScore 48
  • Traffic on the store's road: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The lunch rush: above the middle of US c-stores
  • The after-school rush: in the top quarter of US c-stores
  • A busy strip or highway exit: in the bottom quarter of US c-stores
  • Only 1 chain restaurant, hotel or gas station within half a mile
ZIP 02720: 18 limited-service restaurants · 7 supermarkets · 10 convenience stores · 5 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).