MINNEAPOLIS – For many Americans, summer means more time on the road and likely more stops at convenience stores to refuel and stock up on snacks for the journey. To help convenience store retailers make the most of the additional traffic coming through their doors, the Consumer Insights team from General Mills Convenience & Foodservice prepared a helpful infographic, “Making the Most Out of Summer Snacking in C-stores,” that showcases the top snack products summer c-store shoppers are looking for.

“Summer is an exciting time for c-stores. However, retailers need to ensure they are prepared and plan ahead with their promotions to maximize their potential for success,” said Kelly Kees, global consumer insights researcher at General Mills Convenience and Foodservice, in a press release. “If nothing else, retailers need to take stock of their snack selection and optimize shelf space for the top summer categories, which may surprise them.”

For instance, Kees said the warehouse salty and grain bar categories actually index higher during the summer than soft drinks and candy—traditionally popular categories. Further, there are a number of categories that decline in the summer such as soup, baking products and other grocery items. Therefore, it may make sense to reprioritize some categories during shelf reset time. 

“Summer is all about snacking and there are certain snacks that c-stores will want front and center in the high traffic areas of their store,” said Kees. “Categories with higher sales in summer include seeds, nutritional bars, yogurt, trail mix, granola bars, nuts and meat snacks. Retailers should highlight these snacks whenever possible and time promotions and in-store marketing activity around the summer months to drive even more sales.”

With lower gas prices resulting in more disposable income for shoppers, Kees adds that retailers should take advantage of the increase by co-promoting “hot” snack brands alongside average performing category brands, such as nutrition bars with soft drinks, in order to incent an increased basket size.