Meijer Express is now the top-rated convenience store brand in the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index ranking, according to reporting published Tuesday, October 6. The result puts a Midwest chain associated with Meijer supermarkets ahead of last year’s leaders in a closely watched consumer satisfaction survey.
That matters because the ACSI study has become a widely cited yardstick for how shoppers rate convenience stores on a 100-point scale. In 2025, Kwik Trip led the category with a score of 84, while Wawa and Sheetz followed at 82, according to the ACSI’s 2025 convenience store study.
Meijer Express takes the top spot in the new ranking
The new ranking was reported October 6 by The Independent, which said Meijer Express earned an ACSI score of 82. The same report said the chain rose five points and finished ahead of more than two dozen convenience store brands measured in the 2026 study.
The report also said Buc-ee’s scored 77, tying for fourth place with Maverik, Pilot, RaceTrac and Shell. That is a notable shift from the 2025 ACSI study, when Buc-ee’s did not lead but remained among the higher-scoring brands in the category, and Kwik Trip held the No. 1 position at 84.
ACSI’s own 2025 study showed an industry score of 76 and described a category that has moved beyond fuel and packaged snacks, with operators leaning harder on prepared food and in-store experience. That earlier report said customer satisfaction had remained stable even as leadership changed, with Kwik Trip displacing Wawa at the top in 2025.
The available reporting points to a clear regional angle. Meijer is best known as a Midwest grocer, and The Independent described the winning brand as a retailer better known for supermarkets than quick-stop gas stations. That makes the result especially relevant in Midwestern markets where Meijer already has a strong retail presence.
What is not yet clear from the sourcing available here is the full state-by-state footprint of Meijer Express locations included in the ranking, or whether ACSI plans to publish a standalone 2026 convenience store report with a full brand table. ACSI’s publicly accessible convenience store study available through its site is the 2025 report dated October 7, 2025.
For readers outside Meijer’s core territory, the change may register more as a national ranking shuffle than an immediate shift in store options nearby. Chains with larger national or multistate footprints, including 7-Eleven and Circle K, still dominate the industry by store count, while Casey’s, Couche-Tard and other operators continue to expand through acquisitions and new-market growth, according to trade reporting in 2026.
The broader context has been building for two years. ACSI’s 2025 study said convenience stores were no longer seen only as necessary pit stops and that companies were using food, store conditions and the in-store experience to reduce reliance on fuel sales.
Trade reporting in 2026 shows the sector still changing fast. Convenience Store News ranked 7-Eleven No. 1 and Alimentation Couche-Tard No. 2 by store count in its 2026 Top 100 chains list, while Casey’s held the No. 3 spot. The same outlet reported that mergers, smaller acquisitions and organic growth continued reshaping the market during the past year.
What comes next depends on when ACSI releases its own full 2026 convenience store findings. For now, the verified takeaway is narrower than the headline phrase suggests: reporting published October 6 says Meijer Express now leads the ACSI convenience store satisfaction ranking, replacing last year’s top brand with a new Midwest winner.