After just a year at the top, Kwik Trip has lost its crown as America’s favorite convenience store, according to the latest rankings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).
The ACSI study, which surveyed nearly 9,500 customers between October 2025 and September 2026, measured satisfaction across various aspects of the convenience store experience. Overall industry satisfaction dipped one point to 75 in a break from the industry’s last two years of stability.
Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at the ACSI, says in a summary of the results that convenience stores now ask customers to juggle more than ever. That includes using an app to order ahead, scan loyalty cards, redeem offers and pick up food. So far customers have shown they’re willing to do it.
“But every new capability is a new expectation,” Morgeson explains. “When the app is clunky, the bathroom is neglected, or the store feels disorganized, that shapes how customers judge the entire visit. The industry has figured out what to sell. Now the experience of buying it has to catch up.”
This year’s leader is Meijer. It scored 82 out of 100 points in the 2026 ACSI Convenience Store Study — a significant improvement from last year’s score of 78.
Meijer was founded in 1934 in Michigan and now operates more than 500 supercenters, grocery stores, neighborhood markets and express locations in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The company pioneered the modern supercenter concept in 1962.
The ACSI credits Meijer’s jump to its loyalty strategy. The chain’s Meijer Express locations tie fuel purchases into its mPerks rewards program, so customers rack up points on gas the same way they would on groceries. A feature called Quick ID speeds up earning those points at the pump.
Investments in pricing and new store openings rounded out the gains, according to the report.
Kwik Trip, last year’s champion, dropped to 79 points from 84, coming in at No. 5 in the ranking, tied with Murphy USA. QuikTrip, Sheetz and Wawa edged in ahead of last year’s favorite.
Stores that are pulling ahead focus on loyalty programs. The study found that 65% of rewards members shop at their go-to store at least once a week, compared with 46% of nonmembers — and that engagement shows up in satisfaction, with members scoring 77 versus 73.
Here’s how the major chains ranked:
- Meijer: 82, up from 78 in 2025
- QuikTrip: 80, unchanged from 80
- Sheetz: 80, down from 82
- Wawa: 80, down from 82
- Kwik Trip: 79, down from 84
- Murphy USA: 79, up from 78
- Buc-ee’s: 77, down from 79
- Maverik: 77, down from 78
- Pilot: 77, debut score (not measured in 2025)
- RaceTrac: 77, down from 78
- Shell: 77, up from 75
- Casey’s General Store: 76, up from 75
- Speedway (7-Eleven): 76, unchanged from 76
- Circle K (Alimentation Couche-Tard): 75, down from 76
- Exxon Mobil: 75, down from 77
- GetGo (Alimentation Couche-Tard): 75, down from 76
- Love’s: 75, down from 79
- 7-Eleven: 74, down from 75
- ampm (BP): 74, up from 73
- BP: 74, unchanged from 74
- Marathon: 74, down from 75
- Chevron: 73, down from 76
- Cumberland Farms: 71, down from 75
- Quik Stop: 71, down from 74
- Sunoco: 71, down from 75
- Fas Mart: 69, debut score (not measured in 2025)
The gap between the highest and lowest scores shows just how much the convenience store experience can vary depending on where you stop.
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