Wawa is once again tied with Sheetz for second-best convenience store chain in national survey
Wawa was the only company to take the top spot in two regions.
Wawa and Sheetz customers across the country are equally satisfied for the second year in a row, according to a new survey.
But Wawa did gain an edge in the Northeast region — which includes Pennsylvania and New Jersey — where it narrowly beat out Sheetz for the top spot. Last year, Wawa and Sheetz tied for first place in the region. In the latest survey, Sheetz tied BP and Shell for second place in the area.
Nationwide, Delaware County-based Wawa, Altoona-based Sheetz, and Oklahoma-based Quiktrip tied for second place in the third-annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Convenience Store Study, released Tuesday.
All three chains received a score of 80 out of 100, two points behind Meijer, the Michigan-based chain that held sole possession of the top spot. Both Wawa and Sheetz dropped two points since last year, when they also tied for second place.
Sheetz ranked no. 1 in the Midwest, while Wawa once again claimed first place in the South, just above Sheetz, Texas-based Buc-ee’s, and Quiktrip. Wawa was the only chain to take the top spot in two regions.
“We appreciate being included in the list and are proud of the role that Wawa and other convenience store brands play in consumers’ daily lives,” Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce said Monday in a statement.
A Sheetz spokesperson did not return a request for comment on Monday.
Among all convenience stores in 2026, the study found the average customer-satisfaction rating dropped 1% amid slight declines in mobile-app quality, as well as layout and store cleanliness.
“Convenience stores are asking customers to do more inside the store and more on the app than ever before. Order ahead, scan loyalty cards, redeem offers, pick up food,” Forrest Morgeson, Michigan State University marketing professor and director of research emeritus at the ACSI, said in a statement. “But every new capability is a new expectation.”
“When the app is clunky, the bathroom is neglected, or the store feels disorganized, that shapes how customers judge the entire visit,” Morgeson added. “The industry has figured out what to sell. Now the experience of buying it has to catch up.”
Inside convenience stores, food service now accounts for more than 28% of sales and nearly 40% of gross profit, the study’s authors noted, citing industry data. And, they added, about 15% of customers picking up prepared foods at convenience stores chose to do so over stopping at a quick-service restaurant.
Overall, fuel accounts for 65% of sales at convenience stores, according to industry data, and 39% of gross profit.
Consumers are drawn most to stores with accessible locations, convenient hours, dependable food and beverages, and quick service, the study found.
Earlier this year, Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens said the homegrown company excels in all those categories.
“For a lot of people, it’s their daily routine,” Gheysens said. “It becomes a part of their neighborhood. It’s a relationship that’s built on consistency, on trust” — and on getting customers out the door in five minutes or less, depending on the time of day.
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Wawa has about 1,200 stores in 13 states and Washington, D.C., and has expanded as far as Florida and Kentucky. Sheetz has about 800 stores in seven states.
In Pennsylvania, the chains’ footprints — Sheetz’s in Western and central Pennsylvania and Wawa’s closer to Philly — have increasingly overlapped in recent years. Wawa opened its first central Pennsylvania location within eyesight of a Sheetz in 2024, and has since added more stores in the region.
Sheetz opened its first Philly-area outpost in Montgomery County earlier this year, and has expressed interest in building stores in Delaware and Chester Counties.
The ACSI Convenience Store Study was based on 9,475 email surveys completed by a random selection of U.S. consumers between October 2025 and September 2026. Recipients were asked to evaluate their recent store experiences, as well as their perceptions of quality and value.
Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip, which beat out Wawa and Sheetz for last year’s No. 1 spot, fell five points in this year’s survey, tying Arkansas-based Murphy USA for third place.
