The convenience stores’ promise to customers is built right into the name. It’s convenience first, get people what they need quickly.

What has changed is how much now happens inside the store to deliver on that promise.

Today’s convenience store may have made-to-order food, self-checkout, loyalty programs, delivery orders, digital promotions and a growing number of food and beverage categories competing for limited space and labor.

At the same time, operators are under pressure to make more money inside the store.

NACS reported that U.S. convenience store foodservice and merchandise sales reached $341.2 billion in 2025, marking the 23rd consecutive year of in-store sales growth. Foodservice alone represented 28.5% of in-store sales and 38.9% of in-store gross profit dollars.

For an industry historically associated with fuel, cigarettes and packaged snacks, foodservice now carries a much larger share of the business.

Foodservice Is Growing, but It Isn’t Easy to Operate

Foodservice can be attractive because it contributes to both sales and margin. And alongside that is more work.

Someone has to prepare the food, monitor holding times, clean equipment, manage ingredients, maintain food safety standards and keep the program running consistently across every shift.

For a large operator with sophisticated systems, that may be manageable. For smaller stores or locations already working with lean staffing, every additional foodservice program adds another operating hurdle.

NACS addressed this in recent coverage of convenience store foodservice, noting that operators are trying to grow fresh food programs while dealing with staffing challenges, limited space and day-to-day operational complexity.

That puts more pressure on operators to distinguish between foodservice that drives sales and foodservice that is simply difficult to execute well.

Technology Is Taking Over More Routine Tasks

Checkout is one obvious example.

In August, HOP Shops announced that it was adding AI-assisted Mashgin self-checkout machines. Instead of requiring shoppers to scan each barcode, the system uses computer vision to recognize multiple products placed on the checkout unit.

The retailer cited faster checkout as one benefit, along with allowing employees to spend more time elsewhere in the store.

NACS has also reported that convenience retailers continue to invest in touchscreen ordering, self-checkout and other digital tools. IT expenses have increased in part because stores are adding technology intended to improve the customer experience and make operations more efficient.

Labor costs add another layer. Wages and benefits increased 4.2% in 2025, according to NACS.

A store still needs employees, but not every task needs the same amount of employee involvement.

Scanning packaged products at a register is different from preparing food, restocking, cleaning or helping a customer solve a problem. Technologies that reduce the time spent on predictable, repetitive tasks give operators more flexibility in how they use the people already in the store.

The Same Question Applies to Foodservice

Checkout automation is easy to see because it sits at the front of the store.

Foodservice automation can be less obvious.

Sometimes it means better kitchen systems, digital temperature monitoring or touchscreen ordering. In other cases, the product itself can be designed to require less employee involvement.

Frozen desserts and beverages are a good example.

Freshly made ice cream, shakes, smoothies and frozen coffee can give customers another reason to come inside the store. But traditional frozen foodservice equipment can also bring cleaning, preparation, refrigerated or frozen inventory, training and maintenance with it.

ColdSnap was designed around a different operating model.

For a convenience store operator, the value is in being able to add a differentiated frozen category without creating a traditional made-to-order station.

ColdSnap gives customers a self-service way to choose from ice cream, frozen lattes, smoothies and other frozen products, while shelf-stable pods simplify inventory and the machine requires no water line, drain or daily cleaning protocol.

That creates another way to build in-store sales and give customers a reason to stop, browse and add something incremental to their purchase.

Adding In-Store Revenue Without Another Counter

This becomes particularly relevant as convenience stores look for more revenue beyond fuel.

NACS noted in September that, amid continued profitability pressure, growth is increasingly being driven inside the store.

Foodservice is already central to that growth, but there is a practical limit to how many programs a store can execute well.

A self-service frozen category gives operators another option.

ColdSnap can be positioned near existing impulse-purchase areas, beverage stations or other high-traffic parts of the store. Customers choose their own pod and make the product themselves.

There isn’t an employee stationed there making shakes. There isn’t a freezer stocked with finished ice cream. The same machine can also support several frozen product categories instead of requiring separate equipment for each one.

For stores where labor and space are already tight, those differences matter.

Convenience Is Starting to Apply to Store Operations Too

Convenience stores were built around making the customer’s visit easier.

More of the technology entering the channel now also makes parts of the store easier to operate.

Self-checkout reduces some of the work associated with transactions. Connected systems give operators better visibility into inventory and equipment. Automated foodservice can reduce the amount of preparation, cleaning or oversight required for certain categories.

None of those technologies removes the operational work of running a convenience store. They can, however, change how much effort is required to add another source of in-store revenue.

For operators already balancing labor, space and margin pressure, that may be the more useful way to evaluate automation.