MD's Top Convenience Store Chains Ranked: See How Royal Farms, Sheetz, Wawa Fared

Food-focused establishments continue to lead the top of the American Customer Satisfaction Index Convenience Store Study, with Pennsylvania-based stores Wawa and Sheetz — which both have a sizable presence in Maryland — faring well.

Baltimore-based Royal Farms was not included in the ranking. The company has about 300 stores in Maryland and six other states.

Overall customer satisfaction with convenience stores remains the same — 76 on a scale of 0 to 100 — but there’s been a major shakeup at the top.

Kwik Trip, which has no locations in Maryland, leads the industry after surging 8 percent to a score of 84.

Two popular chains with stores in the state, Wawa and Sheetz, are in a second-place tie with an 82 percent customer satisfaction rating. Wawa, which was last year's leader in customer satisfaction, maintained its existing rating, while Sheetz improved by 4 percent.

QuikTrip was down 1 percent to 80 percent) and Buc-ee’s — found in Texas, Florida and other states further south — down was down 1 percent to 79 percent. 1%

Near the low end of the industry, Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores saw the largest satisfaction decline, down 5 percent to 75 percent. BP dropped 4 percent to 74 percent, tying QuikStop and just ahead of ampm, which finished last with an ACSI score of 73.

The 11-point gap between the highest and lowest ratings reveals a high degree of variability in the customer experience, according to Forrest Morgenson, a Michigan State University associate professor of marketing.

“The brands rising to the top are doing more than just selling coffee and snacks. They’re building communities inside their stores," he said in a statement.

"As in-store sales outpace fuel and digital tools become table stakes, the brands that will win are those that double down on quality, innovation, and authentic connection.”

Here's the full ACSI convenience store ranking:

• Kwik Trip
• Sheetz
• Wawa
• QuikTrip
• Buc-ee’s
• Love’s
• Maverik
• Meijer
• Murphy USA
• RaceTrac
• ExxonMobil
• Chevron
• Circle K (Alimentation Couche-Tard)
• GetGo (Alimentation Couche-Tard)
• Speedway (7-Eleven)
• 7-Eleven
• Casey’s General Stores
• Cumberland Farms
• Marathon
• Shell
• Sunoco
• BP
• QuikStop
• ampm (BP)