Unmasking hidden losses and boosting foot-traffic: essential strategies for C-Store success

The convenience store landscape in 2025 presents a dynamic mix of challenges and exciting opportunities. For operators aiming to thrive, two critical areas demand immediate attention: halting the hidden drain of unknown losses and strategically revitalizing customer traffic. Leveraging technology is no longer optional; it’s essential for unlocking profitability and driving sustainable growth. Let's explore how understanding these trends can empower you to optimize profitability and foster growth.

1. Addressing the "ghost" of unknown losses in your C-store

Have you ever looked at your audit reports and felt like you're "chasing ghosts" due to high variances and unexplained food audit losses? You're not alone. Many convenience store retailers face significant margin leakage from issues that are hard to pinpoint. Consultant Liza Salaria highlighted this challenge at a recent C-Store Foodservice Forum, emphasizing the need for thorough investigation beyond just confirming the audit numbers.

Where do these "unknown losses" hide?

• Inaccurate scans and employee practices: Discrepancies can arise from voids, open rings, unrecorded extras, or even employee drinks that aren't properly scanned. It's crucial to ensure that every transaction is accurately captured.
• Product yields and overportioning: Even small, seemingly insignificant details can lead to substantial losses. For example, understanding how much product is truly yielded from raw ingredients is key. Salaria cited an instance where a 15% yield loss occurred from liquid cheese in liners simply because the bags weren't properly scraped, with product sticking to the sides. This kind of raw ingredient loss can lead to "huge audit shortages".
• The "Psyche of Scooping": Overportioning can also occur unintentionally due to human factors. Salaria shared a compelling anecdote about a C-store's Mexican food concept where staff, chatting with customers, gave out "big scoops" and "heaping" portions. When management tried to enforce level scoops, it led to staff dissatisfaction and even quits because it didn't account for "the psyche of scooping food in front of customers, and the joy and it brought them in that role". The solution, she found, was often a smaller scoop size that still allowed staff to "heap it as high as they can". This illustrates how seemingly minor operational details, driven by human interaction, can significantly impact margins.
• Receiving and internal theft: Ensuring timely and accurate handling of receiving, including check-ins, credits, and invoices, is vital. Additionally, raw ingredient internal theft is a persistent concern that can contribute to unknown losses.

To combat these invisible profit drains, C-Stores need robust systems that provide accurate audits and tools for detailed variance investigation. This often involves leveraging technology that can integrate transaction data with visual evidence, allowing you to quickly identify and rectify issues like fraudulent transactions, operational inefficiencies, and potential theft. Focusing on these areas transforms the "chasing ghosts" feeling into actionable insights.

i3's solution for invisible losses

To address these hidden drains on profitability, i3 International offers the advanced i3 Smart-ER, a comprehensive exception-based reporting system. Smart-ER integrates POS transaction data with visual evidence, enabling rapid identification and rectification of fraudulent activities, inefficiencies, and theft. This robust tool transforms frustrating "ghost-chasing" into actionable, profit-saving insights.

2. Reversing the trend of shrinking foot traffic

While controlling internal losses is crucial, attracting customers to your stores remains paramount. Many C-Stores are grappling with declining foot traffic, a "major challenge" for the industry. For instance, 7-Eleven’s North American stores recently experienced a 6% year-over-year drop in foot traffic for their fiscal first quarter, marking five consecutive quarters of such losses.

Despite this overall decline, there are silver linings and opportunities. Companies are finding ways to offset traffic losses with other positive trends:

• Increased basket size: Even with fewer visitors, North American C-Stores saw a 5.3% increase in basket size in fiscal Q1. This indicates that when customers do visit, they are spending more.
• Booming delivery sales: Delivery services are a rapidly growing segment, with North American stores reporting an 18.3% boost in same-store delivery sales in fiscal Q1. This highlights a shifting customer preference for convenience beyond in-store visits.

To recover and grow customer traffic, C-Stores can benefit from a data-driven approach. Implementing solutions that provide accurate foot traffic analysis and allow you to track real-time conversion rates are essential. These insights help in optimizing store layouts, making smarter staffing decisions, and refining marketing strategies to better attract and engage customers. By understanding customer movement patterns, you can make informed decisions to boost visits and maximize the value of every customer interaction.

i3's solutions for enhancing customer traffic

i3 International’s powerful Heat Mapping and People Counting technologies provide invaluable data-driven insights into customer movement patterns and real-time conversion rates. These analytics empower operators to optimize store layouts, streamline staffing decisions, and refine marketing strategies to boost store visits and customer satisfaction. Accurate foot traffic analysis enables proactive, informed decision-making, maximizing every customer interaction.

The path forward: smart operations for a profitable future

The C-Store landscape in 2025 clearly emphasizes a dual focus: protecting your profits by diligently preventing losses and innovating to attract and retain customers. By proactively addressing challenges like foodservice margin leakage, internal theft, and declining foot traffic, C-Store operators can leverage intelligent solutions to gain the data-driven insights needed to optimize operations, enhance security, and ensure long-term profitability and growth in a competitive market.