It’s worth repeating: in 2025, the average in-store c-store transaction was not profitable.
According to the 2025 NACS State of the Industry report, the average basket size was $7.69. However, after accounting for the costs of goods sold, the direct store operating expenses, and the facility expenses, there was a net loss of 7 cents on each transaction.
Turning Checkout Into a Competitive Advantage
As a retailer, you have to focus on what you can control, especially the customer experience at checkout. Because that has a significant impact on throughput.
C-store customers expect convenience, and if you’re not providing it, they notice immediately.
That’s why improving checkout speed is such a powerful lever in the fight against unprofitable transactions. Faster checkout options can reduce costs by improving labor efficiency and increase revenue by letting you capture more walk-in traffic. It also helps drive retention.
For the average shopper, 2 out of 3 will leave if there is a line of 3 or 4 people. It's even worse for your most valuable customers. For high-frequency shoppers, nicotine purchasers, and high-income shoppers, 4 out of 5 of them will leave without making a purchase, according to Mashgin.
When you deliver a fast and easy checkout experience, the average shopper is 73% more likely to return. And those high value customers are almost 90% more likely to return.
The Winning Framework for Optimizing Checkout Experiences
You want faster checkout experiences at your c-store to help offset unprofitable transactions – but how do you get them? According to Betsy Vos Reeves (Senior Director, Product Management, Invenco), Howard Hyche (Senior VP Information Technology, Majors LLC), and Steve O'Toole (Head of Convenience & Fuel Retail Business Development, Mashgin), self-checkout and assisted-checkout solutions are a great way!
At RTC26, these three industry experts chatted about the importance of thinking through what implementing one of those solutions at your site(s) looks like. Here's our top takeaways from what they had to say:
- Pick the Right Stores: Location matters. For example, self-checkouts may be a strong fit for stores near college campuses where younger shoppers tend to prefer them.
- Make Adoption Intentional: You can't just put these solutions in your store and expect people to instantly use them. It must be part of your core operations and the natural customer flow.
- Engage and Train Store Staff: If store teams aren’t advocates, adoption will stall. Make sure employees understand how to use the technology and feel comfortable answering questions and addressing concerns.
- Pick the Right Solution: The best option is the one that supports your business goals and delivers ROI. Consider things like: average transaction counts, transaction types (credit only vs. cash acceptance), labor impact, and physical fit within your store.
How to Measure What's Working
Once you’ve added a self-checkout or assisted-checkout solution, it’s time to start measuring ROI. Howard Hyche recommends looking at the cost of your all-in labor per hour before and after adding the solution, as well as things like transaction speed, transaction counts, and total items sold on the new solution.
Howard also stresses the importance of being “methodical” about labor optimization. He recommends monitoring self-checkout usage and dispatching staff to work on other tasks around the store during peak hours.
The Bottom Line
Every transaction should contribute to profitability, and the right checkout strategy can help make that happen.
As Steve O’Toole puts it, “it should be easy for the customer to have the experience.” Faster checkout experiences lead to more customers conducting transactions, and fewer customers walking out without making a purchase, helping you replace unprofitable transactions with profitable ones!
Already have self-checkout at your site? Check out our best practices guide to ensure it provides the speed your customers expect.
Looking to implement self-checkout? See how it can reduce wait time, increase throughput, and tackle staffing challenges!